Application Process

Thank you for your interest in SECU Foundation’s People Helping People Scholarship. To be eligible to receive this award, a student must be a member of SECU or be eligible for membership through a parent or guardian at the time of applying. Please follow these step-by-step instructions to verify that you meet the membership eligibility requirement. If the student or parent/guardian is not a member but is eligible for membership, they may first request membership either at an SECU branch or through SECU’s Member Services.

STEP 1: VERIFICATION PROCESS

1. Follow this link to get started (the link will become live on December 15th, 2025) or scan the QR code below:
https://apps.docusign.com/webforms/us/da632462216634a404da1d6509e0b00f

2. Click “Start” to begin the verification process (note, you will need to know your social security number or TIN number)

3. Next, fill out the required identifying information. (*Note: If you, as the student, are a member of SECU, you will answer “Yes” to the question “Are you a current member of SECU?” and you will only be filling out information about yourself. If you are not a member of SECU, you will click “No” and provide your parent/guardian’s name and email address in the additional spaces that appear. Once you have filled out the required information, select “Next.”)
 

4. You will be taken to a page where you can confirm the information you entered by clicking “Next.” (If something is incorrect, click “Back” and edit that information.)

5. The last step is to provide your signature on the DocuSign PowerForm. Click the box beside “I agree to use…” and then select “Continue.” Then provide your signature underneath your name. (*Note: If you are using a parent/guardian for membership verification, their name and email address will appear at the bottom. You will not be able to edit any
information on that half of the document. An email will be sent to your parent/guardian at the email address listed for them once you click “Finish”.

6. You will then receive confirmation that your form has been submitted.

7. Within 48 hours, you will receive an email from the MSS employee assigned to your verification (click “View Completed Document”) that either (a) states that you meet the membership eligibility requirement - you will submit the attached PDF confirmation with the rest of your application materials (the confirmation will look like the image below) OR (b) states that SECU is unable to verify that you meet the membership eligibility requirement – in this case, you will be encouraged to visit your local SECU branch to find out if you or your parent/guardian is eligible to obtain an SECU membership. Once you have identified the cause for receiving the email stating you do not meet the membership eligibility requirement and fixed the issue, you may restart the Membership Verification process by clicking on the link again.

Please note the following:

• The information you provide in the Membership Verification Form will only be seen by you and the SECU Member Support employee who verifies your membership eligibility (it will not be seen by DocuSign, your high school, or anyone else).
• The SECU Member Support team is available 24 hours a day, so you may submit your Membership Verification Form at any time that is convenient to you.
• If you receive an email stating you do not meet the membership eligibility requirements and you believe this is an error, refer to the copy of your Membership Verification Form and make sure you entered each of the details correctly (ie. Social Security Number is correct; the address listed is the address associated with the SECU membership account; etc.). If these details were entered correctly, you are encouraged to visit your local SECU branch to discuss your membership eligibility.

STEP 2: APPLICATION, CONSENT FORM, AND ATTACHMENTS

Once you have been confirmed as meeting the membership eligibility requirement, you will receive a second email from the Member Services Employee who completed your verification providing the DocuSign PowerForm link to the People Helping People application; the link will take you to the home page (see below) where you’ll read the instructions and click “Begin.” *Note – It is best to complete the application in one sitting. To do that, you will need (1) your Community Involvement Essay, (2) your downloaded Membership Confirmation letter, and (3) a copy of your university acceptance letter.*

1.You will be required to answer a series of questions. Once you have answered the questions, click “Next.”

2. Next, you will fill out the “Consent Form.” First, agree to the electronic records and click “Continue.” Read through the Consent Form and then click “Sign”

3. Now, you will review your answers to the application form (you can amend answers as needed) and upload the three required attachments: (1) Community Involvement Essay – How have you contributed to your community (community projects, mission work, jobs, or volunteerism)? Please give examples identifying type and length of service. Explain how these activities were significant opportunities for you. (2) College Acceptance Letter – To be eligible for the PHP Scholarship, you must plan to attend a UNC System university; for application purposes, the UNC System acceptance letter you attach does not have to be the UNC System university you ultimately attend (ie. if you have been accepted to UNC - Wilmington but you are waiting to hear back from your first choice, UNC – Chapel Hill, it is OK to attach your UNCW acceptance letter. If you are selected as a recipient, we will confirm which UNC System university you have chosen to attend); (3) Membership Confirmation Letter – This is the PDF you received from our MSS team that is referenced in the “Verification Process” section of this document.
To upload a document, simply click on the button containing an image of a paperclip, then click “Upload a File” and select the file you would like to attach. Once a document has been uploaded, the box will turn gray and no longer show a downward-pointing arrow. When all attachments have been uploaded, a “Finish” box will appear at the bottom of the page.

4. When you click “Finish”, you’ll receive confirmation that your materials have been submitted

5. If you selected that you are 18 or over for the Consent Form section, you should immediately receive an email from dse_NA4@docusign.net

You will click on “View Completed Documents” which will take you to your application in DocuSign; you can click the download icon at the top of the screen, select “Combined PDF”, and then save the download as a PDF.

If you selected that you are under 18 and you provided the name/email address for a parent/guardian, once you click “Finish” on your application they will be emailed their own Consent Form from dse_NA4@docusign.net; once
your parent/guardian fills out their own Consent Form and clicks “Finish” the completed application will be emailed to you and you’ll follow the steps above.
6. Once you have downloaded/saved your application packet, you will submit the packet to your school counselor.