Issue link: http://alabamapower.uberflip.com/i/497617
F For Will sTephens, Alabama Power has always been there, investing in his past, present and now his future. The Alabama Power Foundation is helping to fund the Engineering Leadership Scholarship Stephens has received through the University of Alabama. This four- year, merit-based scholarship is awarded to outstanding engineering students to help cover expenses such as course fees, dormitory charges and meal plans. In a recent letter thanking the foundation for its support, the college junior shared how Alabama Power's impact on his life began long before he was born. His grandfather, William "Buddy" Stephens, joined Alabama Power as a lineman in 1950 and worked his way through the ranks, retiring as Line Services supervisor in Transmission 38 years later. "At a job interview 65 years ago, your company said yes to my grandfather. And without that decision, I don't know where I'd be today," Stephens wrote. "Alabama Power has not only invested in my schooling but in my life as well." Stephens said his grandfather had a tremendous influence on his life. "I grew up not 50 yards from my grandpa," said Stephens, who remembers riding with Buddy on his tractor and helping him tend his garden on the family's 40-acre plot of land in Vance. "My grandpa worked hard and loved his job at Alabama Power. He was a godly man and the patriarch of our family." Stephens' connection with the company did not end with his 2 "At a job interview 65 years ago, your company said yes to my grandfather. And without that decision, I don't know where I'd be today."–University of Alabama student Will Stephens, who received a four-year Engineering Leadership Scholarship with funding from the Alabama Power Foundation. STORY BY CARLA DAVIS PHOTOS BY NIK LAYMAN Scholarship recipient hopes to follow in Grandpa's footsteps Will Stephens follows in the footsteps of his grandfather, William "Buddy" Stephens, an Alabama Power lineman (left) and his father, Bill Stephens (pictured as a toddler), who worked in Information Technology at Southern Nuclear.