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California State University, Long Beach

Sempra Energy Foundation Awards $6,000 To MESA Program

Published: December 15, 2010

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The Sempra Energy Foundation recently awarded $6,000 to the CSULB College of Engineering to support the activities of the campus’s MESA Engineering Program. The Sempra Energy Foundation recently awarded $6,000 to CSULB College of Engineering to support the activities of the campus’s MESA Engineering Program. Pictured at the check presentation are (l-r) Carolyn Williams, community relations manager, Southern California Gas Company; Nancy Smith-Taylor, staffing manager, San Diego Gas & Electric; Joseph Rivera, director of Gas Engineering, Southern California Gas Company; Lisa Zelkind, senior staffing advisor, San Diego Gas & Electric; and Linda Tiggs-Taylor, CSULB’s MESA principal investigator.
Sempra Energy Foundation logo

Engineering and computer science students at CSULB will benefit from increased services thanks to a recent grant from the Sempra Energy Foundation.

The CSULB Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Center has been awarded a $6,000 grant to support the retention and graduation activities of the MESA Engineering Program, a college-based academic support and professional development program for underrepresented engineering students. At CSULB, nearly 200 students are involved in MESA.

“On behalf of the students and staff of the MESA Engineering Program, we are pleased with the continued support of Sempra Energy. To date we have received more than $25,000, as well as valuable human resources, including mentors and guest speakers,” said Emmitt Clark, director of the CSULB MESA Engineering Program. “This important partnership allows us to prepare our students as far as tutoring and professional development is concerned. A number of our MEP students are working as interns for Sempra (The Gas Company). We are honored that Sempra Energy is looking to strengthen this partnership in the future.”

MESA, an academic preparation program that each year serves about 20,000 California pre-college, community college and university students who are educationally disadvantaged, is an award-winning program with a model that works. Seventy percent of MESA high school graduates statewide went directly to college after graduation compared to 48 percent of all California graduates. Sixty percent of MESA students go on to math, science or engineering majors.

“Sempra has long been a supporter of MESA, but this is the largest grant MESA has received from the company,” said Oscar Porter, MESA executive director. “The money will help us increase services to nearly half of our centers serving university students.”

Four other MESA centers in Sempra’s service area will also receive $6,000 each: San Diego State, Cal State LA, UC Santa Barbara and Fresno State. MESA currently serves more than 1,000 students at those five campuses.

Sempra is a worldwide energy company whose California subsidiaries – Southern California Gas Company and San Diego Gas & Electric – serve 20 million customers in southern and central California.

–Rick Gloady