Juneau third grader wins annual $25,000 scholarship account

Maxine Petersen, age 8, of Juneau, AK was randomly selected as the winner of this year’s $25,000 scholarship account giveaway. Maxine attends Kax̲dig̱oowu Héen Elementary School in Juneau, AK where Alaska 529 surprised the third grader with the announcement during a school assembly. She is the first winner from Southeast Alaska.

Maxine’s parents, Samantha Jenkins and Carl Petersen, were notified shortly after she was randomly selected. “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,” Jenkins said. “We want to be sure that our children have a chance to receive a college education and complete that education without a mountain of debt clouding their futures. I encourage people to participate in this savings plan as an opportunity to save for the future your children not only need but want. No one should be denied educational opportunities based on their finances.”

Maxine can use the scholarship at any eligible college, university, vocational, or technical school, in or out of Alaska.

“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 Petersen’s age will allow for her account to have a 10 year time horizon for potential growth. Of course, winning at any age is a huge bonus.”

This is the 13th year of the annual giveaway, sponsored by Alaska 529 and funded by the Education Trust of Alaska, with nearly 13,000 applicants. When applying for the Permanent Fund Dividend, Alaskans who contribute at least half of their dividend to a new or existing account are automatically entered to win the scholarship account.