The Utah Energy Workforce Scholarship will be awarded to four eleventh-graders interested in science, technology, engineering or math.
According to Jeffrey Barrett, the deputy director in the Governor’s office of energy development, Chevron is currently spending millions of dollars investing in Utah schools.
“They’ve definitely shown an interest in supporting education in Utah in the past. This is a more particular approach—this scholarship,” Barrett said. “And they’ve never partnered with the state before. So this will be the first time that they’re doing a true kind of public-private scholarship. It’s a first for both of us in that way.”
Students who apply for the scholarship will create a video documentary that explores the energy field. The hope, according to Barrett, is that students will learn what is available to them in the energy sector.
Barrett also said other energy companies besides Chevron have shown interest in the program.
“We’re excited that they’ve partnered with us for this first year, and we’ve already got other energy companies knocking at the door saying, ‘Hey this is too good an idea, why didn’t you call me first? We want to partner with you going forward.’ So we see opportunity for the program to grow,” Barrett said.
Greg Hardy, state government affairs representative for Chevron, said the program will also help create a workforce in the future to work in the energy industry.
“It just looked like a very unique way to engage students in learning more about the energy industry and then pursuing that field through their college career,” Hardy said. “It aligned with things we’re trying to do by increasing students in STEM fields and then creating a broader workforce for us.”
The scholarship will begin this fall.