Enbridge's scholarship program in Chicago area fuels industry awareness
Darwin Argumedo, a senior at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), is known for his strong academic performance and his great batting average on the varsity baseball team.
Now, Argumedo can add another feather to his Scarlet Hawks’ baseball cap. He’s the first recipient of the Enbridge Energy Company Pipeline Industry Scholarship, a new endowment awarded to a high-achieving junior or senior studying engineering and interested in a career in the energy industry.
“The goal of the scholarship is to make the recipients successful,” says Jennifer Smith, a Chicago-based supervisor of U.S. public affairs for Enbridge. “We want to help them, mentor them . . . and raise awareness of the (energy) industryand the different types of jobs available in this area.”
Argumedo, originally from Cartagena, Colombia, fit the bill as a dean’s-list student in chemical engineering, an active member of the university’s athletics community, and a devoted participant in his church. Preference for the scholarship is given to African-American and Hispanic students; Argumedo, having only been in the United States for five years, was a shoe-in for the $5,000 prize.
This scholarship is one piece of Enbridge’s larger commitment to industry awareness in Illinois and Indiana. Smaller awards have been set up at community colleges across these Midwestern states “to raise awareness of the industry and get people trained for the jobs that are available,” says Smith.
Enbridge’s scholarships at community colleges are earmarked for students in vocational and technical programs like welding, mechanical technology, or electrical technology – and the institutions welcome Enbridge’s commitment to tackling students’ financial barriers to education.
IIT prides itself on being a place where students, regardless of their background, can get a quality education, says Gillian Siegel, a corporate relations associate in IIT’s Institutional Advancement Office.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Enbridge on this scholarship. It’s not only provided us with a scholarship, which we always need, but it’s given Darwin the opportunity to make connections in the community,” says Siegel. “We see (the scholarship) as great for our students, great for us, and great for Enbridge.”
Says Argumedo of his Enbridge scholarship: “It’s a great thing when you reward somebody, because you motivate that person to do great things.”
The scholarship has meant more to Argumedo than a reward for his hard work— it’s also a call to pay it forward. “Someone has helped me . . . and some day, I will help people, too,” he says. “That’s how you create a better world.”
