Bob Westphal Memorial Scholarship Accepting 25-26 School Year Applications
The recipients of the 2024 Bob Westphal Memorial Scholarship were Megan Bailey, Edmund Bentley, Colin Everett and Stone Osborne.
The Bob Westphal Memorial Scholarship is a five-year program that was established to honor Robert H. Westphal (1944-2020) in recognition of his impact on the oil and gas pipeline construction industry. The program is aimed at assisting students interested in pursuing a career in energy construction. The scholarships presented for the 2024-2025 year marked the fourth year that the scholarship has been presented.
Bailey is a 2024 high school graduate from Cyprus, Texas, who is a freshman at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado, majoring in civil engineering.
“I hope to support all aspects of the energy infrastructure and construction industry,” Bailey wrote in her application essay. “I am interested in all kinds of energy infrastructure including building big interstate power lines and building massive pipelines to LNG export terminals, providing U.S. energy to the world. I want to combine my love of building and my desire to make the world a better place by supplying both my community and the world with the energy we all need to thrive and survive.”
Bentley is a high school graduate from Gainesville, New York, now attending Alfred State College in Alfred, New York, studying welding technology.
“My objectives are to work in this field for many years and work my way up into more specialized fields such as pipeline welding or working at an oil rig,” Bentley says.
Everett is a 2024 high school graduate from Henderson, Tennessee, now studying at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, majoring in engineering technology with a concentration in construction engineering technology.
“First and foremost the scholarship would help me get the degree that will put me in a position for success in the construction industry,” Everett says. “From there I would begin to lay my own path and start my own construction company.”
Osborne is a 2024 high school graduate from Hartwell, Georgia, and certified in GMAC Welding through the Welding pathway at Hart College & Career Academy. He is a member of SkillsUSA and has been accepted to Western Welding Academy in Gillette, Wyoming. He is interested in pursuing a career as a pipeline welder.
History of the Memorial Scholarship
The scholarship was established in 2020 by Benjamin Media, publisher of Trenchless Technology, and Continuum Capital in cooperation with SkillsUSA. The first winners of the scholarship were awarded for the 2021-2022 academic year.
This scholarship honors Westphal who committed a lifetime of leadership in pipeline construction.
He gave back to the industry in many ways, including leadership positions with industry associations and in working with labor organizations. The scholarship recognizes his legacy and contribution to the pipeline industry.
Since 2021, the Bob Westphal Memorial Scholarship has awarded $40,000 to students pursuing careers in energy construction. Past winners included Gillian Dahn of Austin, Texas; John Kraft of Ponchatoula, Louisiana; Timothy Sparks of Buckeye, West Virginia; and Nick Swank of Medina, Ohio, in 2021; Diego Calderon, of Arlington, Texas; Sara Galante, of Syracuse, New York; Kash Landry, Bossier City, Louisiana; and Zach Wynstra, of South Beloit, Illinois, in 2022; and Christopher Klay Brinkley, of Pocola, Oklahoma; Gatlin Bunch, of West Plains, Missouri; Jordan Coon, of Tupelo, Mississippi; and Korbin Hunt, of Gillette, Wyoming, in 2023.
The Bob Westphal Memorial Scholarship is now accepting applications for the 2025-2026 school year. Awarded to students interested in pursuing a career in energy construction, applications for the $2,500 scholarship are due by May 31.
For more information about the scholarship and how to apply, visit the SkillsUSA website at skillsusa.org/resources/member-resources/scholarships-and-grants.