Maxine Petersen poses with 25,000 dollar check. Photo courtesy of Alaska 529
8-year-old Maxine Petersen has been named the 2022 recipient of the Alaska 529 scholarship. Maxine was surprised by the announcement at her school's assembly.
“Maxine winning the Alaska 529 $25,000 giveaway is a great help with covering her future educational expenses. As we all know, education is both essential and incredibly expensive, not only in terms of time, but also of effort and actual dollar value,” said Samantha Jenkins, one of Petersen’s parents.
Alaskans who receive the PFD may recognize Alaska 529 from their PFD application; those who click “yes” to the Alaska 529 question put half of their money into an education savings account. By contributing half or more, Alaskans are automatically entered to win a $25,000 scholarship.
"The scholarship changes lives and gives families an extra incentive to save their PFDs for future education,” said Lael Oldmixon, executive director of Alaska 529. “Our account winners have ranged in age from toddlers to adults. Our first PFD scholarship account winner is now 16, and his scholarship account has more than doubled in value in the 12 years since it was opened. That goes a long way toward covering future education expenses.”
Maxine will be able to use the scholarship at any eligible college, university, vocational, or technical school — in or out of Alaska.
This is the 13th year of the giveaway, with over 13,000 applicants. More information on opening an Alaska 529 account can be found at Alaska529plan.com/pfd.
.jpg)
