Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced that The PG&E Corporation Foundation is awarding 54 students from across its service area with Better Together STEM Scholarships. These scholarships, totaling more than $300,000, are intended to support students pursuing degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) disciplines.
The scholarship amounts vary, with awards of $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 being distributed. The recipients were selected based on academic achievement, participation and leadership in school and community activities, as well as financial need.
Among this year’s recipients are Erin Virnig of Arroyo Grande and Christopher Loupeda of Sacramento. Virnig received a $10,000 scholarship while Loupeda was awarded $5,000.
“Being supported by a company that leads with such ambition toward a clean energy and safer future across California is not only an immense gift, but an inspiration. As I enter my final year of undergraduate study focused on environmental stewardship in California, I feel more driven than ever to put that vision into action through the work I do. …I am honored to be a recipient of the Better Together STEM scholarship,” said Virnig, who studies biological sciences at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
“The PG&E scholarship is not only about monetary value, it’s a reminder that I have a whole coalition behind me, reassuring me that I can focus on and only on finishing my education,” said Loupeda who studies civil engineering at University of California, Los Angeles.
Carla Peterman, PG&E Corporation Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer as well as Chair of the Board of The PG&E Corporation Foundation stated: “It is truly a privilege to recognize our 2025 PG&E Better Together STEM Scholars. For more than a decade, The PG&E Corporation Foundation has helped lessen the financial burden of college for families — our customers — by supporting incredible students as they pursue their higher education goals and dreams. There is perhaps no better investment than supporting the young doers and thinkers who will innovate and develop solutions to care for people, our planet and prosperity. We’re excited to be a part of their journeys.”
To qualify for these scholarships, recipients must plan full-time undergraduate study during the 2025-2026 academic year toward their first degree at an accredited four-year institution in California or at any Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the United States. HBCU eligibility was introduced three years ago due to increasing applications from students admitted to these institutions outside California.
Since 2012 the Better Together STEM Scholarship Program has provided over $7.8 million in scholarships funded by charitable donations from PG&E shareholders rather than customers.
Additionally, since 1989 PG&E’s employee resource groups (ERGs) and engineering networking groups (ENGs) have raised more than $6 million through direct donations and fundraising events for ERG/ENG Scholarships benefiting thousands of local students.
PG&E serves over 16 million people across Northern and Central California as both an electric and natural gas utility covering approximately 70,000 square miles. More information about PG&E can be found at www.pge.com/ and http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/.
The PG&E Corporation Foundation operates independently as a nonprofit organization sponsored by PG&E Corporation.
For further details see https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pge-awards-more-than-50-scholarships-to-students-across-northern-and-central-california-helping-ease-college-costs-for-families-302530417.html
