SAN DIEGO, July 12, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Sempra Energy today announced it has awarded $200,000 in college scholarships to 30 children of its employees as part of the company's annual program.
"The Sempra Energy scholarship program is just one of the many ways we show our commitment to our employees and foster education in the communities in which we live and work," said Joyce Rowland, senior vice president of human resources for Sempra Energy. "These remarkable students are our next generation of leaders and we're proud to invest our resources to improve their educational opportunities."
From 130 applicants this year, Sempra Energy awarded the scholarships based on both academic and non-academic criteria. The company considered grade point average, rank in class and test scores, as well as leadership, community involvement, work experience, extra-curricular activities, educational aspirations, career goals and educators' appraisals.
Including this year's winners, more than $1.4 million has been awarded to 270 employees' children since the program began in 1999.
The winners of the grand prize scholarship of $16,000 include: Lauren McKay of San Diego; Linden Melvin of Alpine, Calif., Eli Rubin of San Diego; Eric Sponberg of Lakewood, Calif.; Maximilian Wong of Alhambra, Calif.; Siwen Wu of Old Greenwich, Conn.; and Cristina Zepeda of Lakeside, Calif.
The students can use the scholarship funds for tuition and fees, room and board, books and required equipment at a college or university. They also may use the funds to pursue a trade such as computer programming, auto mechanics, welding, pipe-fitting or any other profession at an accredited vocational or technical school.
Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2006 revenues of nearly $12 billion. The Sempra Energy companies' 14,000 employees serve more than 29 million consumers worldwide.