SoCalGas and The East Los Angeles Community Union (TELACU) have awarded $50,000 in scholarships to 14 Latino students pursuing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) degrees at universities. The selected scholars are currently enrolled at Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State Northridge, UC Riverside, LMU, USC and Cal Poly Pomona, majoring in civil and mechanical engineering, computer science, business administration and pre-accountancy.
One of the scholarship recipients, Geovanny Huerta, shared, “TELACU’s College Readiness Program and College Success Program have given me the opportunity to pursue higher education. I am grateful for the resources made available to me through the partnership between SoCalGas and TELACU, as they have prepared me for the next steps in my career. Without these programs and support, I would not have been able to land a summer internship.”
“SoCalGas’ partnership with TELACU highlights our commitment to create more equitable communities,” said Andy Carrasco, SoCalGas vice president of communications, local government and community affairs. “Access to higher education is a life changing opportunity for students, their families and often, their community, while also helping grow the pipeline for more qualified STEM professionals, which are so desperately needed in our region.”
According to Sharon L. Walker, Interim Dean, Bourns College of Engineering at UC Riverside, studies show that just 12% of engineers are African American and Latino, combined. “It should come as no surprise that the field of engineering has a diversity problem. Historically an area dominated by white, middle and upper-class men, that legacy remains primarily unabated,” she says in “Why Diversity is Key to the Future of Engineering.” *
“One of our very first corporate partners, SoCalGas has generously invested in the empowerment of our communities’ greatest, but most vulnerable, resource—our youth,” said Dr. David C. Lizárraga, chairman and founder of the TELACU Education Foundation. “The TELACU Education Foundation is tremendously grateful to SoCalGas for investing in the communities it serves with excellence, and for its commitment to developing a workforce reflective of these communities.”
Since 1999, SoCalGas and TELACU have partnered to address social inequality, and assisted deserving students navigate postsecondary education and their subsequent careers through the TELACU Education Foundation’s programmatic support.
The TELACU Education Foundation serves first-generation students who live in some of the most underserved communities in the greater Los Angeles region and surrounding counties. TELACU has helped these students pursue higher education with over 99% of its college students graduating, often becoming the first in their family to earn a degree.
The 2022-23 SoCalGas-TELACU Scholars are:
- Cecilia Aldape (Civil Engineering, CSU Los Angeles)
- Jacqueline Alvarado (Business Administration, UC Riverside)
- Oswaldo Gamez (Computer Science, CSU Northridge)
- Antonio Garcia (Mechanical Engineering, Loyola Marymount University)
- Yuridia Ginez (Computer Science, CSU Los Angeles)
- Gerson Gonzalez (Computer Science, Biola University)
- Disleiry Hernandez Gutierrez (Mechanical Engineering, UC Los Angeles)
- Emanuel Herrera Pineda (Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern California)
- Geovanny Huerta (Computer Science, CSU Los Angeles)
- Jose Lopez (Computer Science, University of La Verne)
- Yatziri Lopez Mendez (Pre-Accountancy, CSU Northridge)
- Andy Machorro (Mechanical Engineering, CSU Los Angeles)
- Antonio Sanchez (Civil Engineering, Loyola Marymount University)
- Joselyn Velasquez (Civil Engineering, Cal Poly Pomona)
*Source: WHY DIVERSITY IS KEY TO THE FUTURE OF ENGINEERING by Sharon L. Walker, Interim Dean, Bourns College of Engineering at UC Riverside. Link: https://engineeringonline.ucr.edu/blog/why-diversity-is-key-to-the-future-of-engineering/
