Deadline Nears For High-Demand Jobs Scholarship

The deadline to apply for the 2026 Phelps County High-Demand Jobs Scholarships is quickly approaching on February 15.

The scholarships assist students who want to live and work in Phelps County in high-demand fields, including manufacturing/production, agriculture, construction and maintenance, medical, and education. 

Hanna Swearingen, a previous high-demand jobs scholarship winner, is one of those students who plans to return to Phelps County.

“Most of my family is around here, and I really enjoyed growing up in the Holdrege School District, and it’s where I want to raise my future family,” Swearingen said.

She graduated from Holdrege High School in 2023 and attended Fort Hays State to study elementary education with a minor in special education. She was inspired by her former special education teacher, Debbie Komenda, to study special education. When Swearingen was in fourth grade, Komenda helped her overcome her reading difficulties due to a form of dyslexia. Swearingen went from reading below grade level to above grade level in one year with Komenda’s help.

Swearingen went on to excel in school and was actively involved in everything in high school, from choir, dance, and band to cheerleading and varsity sports.

She finished her classes at Fort Hays State in December and is student teaching at Holdrege Elementary School this spring. She hopes to be hired in Phelps County after her spring 2026 college graduation.

Swearingen said the high-demand scholarships she received helped alleviate some of the financial burden of college, allowing her to focus on her education and work part-time instead of full-time. She encourages other students to consider future careers in Phelps County.

“I think it’s important for kids to think about coming back here because it’s a great community,” she said.

High-demand scholarship applications are due February 15 and are available through the Phelps County Community Foundation’s scholarship portal at www.phelpsfoundation.org.