Toyota Offers Scholarships to Promote STEM Education

Toyota Offers Scholarships to Promote STEM Education

Fueling the future by ensuring that students get their best opportunity to succeed, leading automaker Toyota is partnering with Rainbow PUSH Excel to provide $75,000 scholarships to 10 deserving engineering and business college students through the Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. Fellows Scholarships.

As an encouragement for all students to put their best foot forward and take their education seriously, the scholarship recipients received their awards at the Annual Rainbow PUSH Back-To-School Rally in Chicago.

“The scholarship recipients were selected from hundreds of applicants,” said Simon Nagata, chief administrative officer, Toyota North America. “Toyota is proud to recognize and invest in the outstanding academic achievements of these 10 scholars. The commitment to community service and personal excellence of these future leaders is truly inspiring, and we are excited to be a part of their journey.”

With STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) professional jobs going unfilled, Toyota is preparing to fill the pipeline with qualified candidates. The scholarships were awarded to college students who are majoring in either STEM or business academics.

Students had to also demonstrate participation in community service, be in financial need, and were required to obtain sophomore status as of August 1, 2015. The $25,000 scholarship is renewable each year for a maximum three-year period.

In order to receive the award each year, the students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 throughout the school year. In addition to the scholarships, Toyota is offering these students the opportunity to work at one of their facilities across North America to gain valuable real-world experience, as well as be paired with mentors from Toyota management to help guide them through the next three years of college.

PUSH for Excellence, Inc. (PUSH Excel) is a tax-exempt organization founded in 1975 by Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. and a number of nationally recognized educators to inspire students to strive for excellence in education in spite of personal, family, and community challenges that they might experience.