Scholarships Awarded to Students Pursuing Careers Related to Energy, Electrical, Utility Industries
A continuing shortage of engineers, technicians and electric utility field professionals has again prompted Silicon Valley Power (SVP), the City of Santa Clara’s municipal electric utility, to offer scholarships and tuition grants to students residing or attending school in Santa Clara.
New and continuing college students are eligible for $5,000 scholarships from SVP and trade school students can apply for grants of $2,000 if they will be enrolled by October 2017 for the 2017-2018 school year. Applications available at www.siliconvalleypower.com/scholarship are due to SVP by Dec. 15, 2016 and the winners will be announced in the spring of 2017.
Two local high school graduates and a Mission College student were awarded scholarships under the 2016 SVP Scholarship Awards program.
Scholarship recipient Miles Wolf is a Wilcox High School graduate attending the University of California-Santa Barbara to pursue degrees in electrical engineering and environmental science. “Contemporary issues pertaining to energy production and consumption are of great concern,” he said. “The SVP scholarship assists me with attending a premier research university in order to pursue my career goals relating to renewable energy and energy efficiency.”
Mission College student and scholarship winner Andres Cuenca is studying civil engineering, which plays a critical role in the construction of electric generation facilities. He is also interested in “devices that could collect and store kinetic energy from cars, pedestrians and bicyclists” to help provide energy for local residences or small businesses.
Another recipient, Santa Clara High School graduate Jaipal Chahal, is attending Dartmouth College where he hopes to study government affairs. He said he wants to “learn more about the power industry and its impact on our lives.”
Thirty-three college scholarships and six technical school grants totaling $177,000 have been awarded since the program started in 2006.
“Helping these talented students achieve their educational and professional dreams is tremendously rewarding to all of us at Silicon Valley Power,” said John Roukema, Director of SVP. “Career opportunities abound in today’s energy and utility industries, and the 2016 SVP Scholarship Awards winners exemplify the caliber of young people who are the face of tomorrow’s energy industries.”
Applicants planning to study energy services, electric utilities, or fields associated with the power industry in general may download the 2016-2017 application at www.siliconvalleypower.com/scholarship, or call (408) 615-6604 for more information. Students who live in Santa Clara or will be attending school in the city have until Dec. 15, 2016 to submit applications for the SVP Scholarship Awards program.
About Silicon Valley Power
Silicon Valley Power is the trademark adopted for use by the not-for-profit electric municipal utility of Santa Clara, CA serving residents and businesses for over 100 years. SVP provides power to more than 53,000 customers, including Applied Materials, Intel, Owens Corning, Microsoft and NVIDIA, at rates 19 to 43 percent below neighboring communities.