Cherie File of Dowagiac was recently awarded the winter 2014 Adult Scholarship from Midwest Energy Cooperative. The co-op member is working towards a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Ferris State through SMC.

Countless adults choose to pursue new career opportunities as a way to support their lives and families. For many, that requires further training and education. Midwest Energy Cooperative offers two $1,000 scholarships each year to support an adult returning to school.

File was working full-time in labor and delivery at Lakeland Community Hospital in Niles in 2002 when she began work on her bachelor’s degree. She took a break from school when she became pregnant with her third child, and planned to return in 2008.

However, the unexpected closure of her husband’s employer halted those plans. Suddenly unemployed, John File returned to school and just completed a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. He will complete his student teaching in the fall of 2015 and will seek a full-time teaching position. The family’s oldest daughter is currently a student at SMC.

File is motivated to complete what she started.

“I highly value education, and with only four classes left  it is now time for me to return to school! My husband and I have taught our children the importance of education, and have shown them by example how important it is to obtain a college degree, no matter what your age.”

The next Midwest Energy Cooperative Adult Scholarship will be awarded in May 2015. Applications will be available at TeamMidwest.com beginning in March.

Midwest Energy Cooperative is a member-owned electric utility providing electric distribution and an assortment of energy-related programs and services to more than 35,000 customers in 11 counties in southern Michigan and northern Indiana and Ohio.