After Bricen launched the rudimentary rocket he had built at Chevron Engineering Camp, the Fruitvale Junior High School student from Kern County, California, thrust his arms skyward in triumph.
"It went really good, better than I had expected," he said with a smile. "At first the parachute wasn't going to come out, but right at the last second, it came out and floated down really fast."
The rocket launch was the culmination of a weeklong program involving local teachers and Chevron volunteers to generate excitement among young people about science, technology, engineering and math—collectively referred to as STEM. It is one example of how our investments in California's future are producing results.
Headquartered in California, Chevron is the state's largest company and a critical driver of its economy. In California, we employ approximately 10,000 people full time. For every job we create, nearly six more jobs result, either directly related to the energy business or in other services. We understand that the most important source of energy here is our people. Few factors are more critical to California's—and Chevron's—ability to compete in the global economy than nurturing talent in STEM. We recognize that education is a basic building block that contributes to economic development and sustained prosperity.
"The most important challenge for California's economy over the long term is making sure we create our own indigenous STEM human capital inside the state," said Ross DeVol, chief economist with the Milken Institute, a California-based economic think tank. "That's why programs like the ones Chevron funds are critically important."
The need to invest in STEM education is growing across the United States. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that 15 of the 20 fastest-growing occupations in 2014 will require science or math knowledge. California matches that statistic for the 50 fastest-growing occupations. At the same time, the state ranks below the national average in per-student spending, has the highest number of students per teacher, and placed 47th out of 50 states in math scores among eighth-grade students.
“We're working to cultivate the next generation of mathematicians, scientists and innovators.”
— Linda Padon, Chevron
In the United States, Chevron invested nearly $100 million in education over the past three years alone. In California, more than half a million students and 6,600 teachers benefited from Chevron-funded STEM education programs in the past two years, including professional development programs for nearly 1,000 teachers. Our support also helped nonprofits introduce new STEM curriculum and hundreds of new STEM activities and programs into California's public schools, and provided some 13,000 new STEM resources for students, including scholarships, science and robotics kits, computers, and lab equipment.
"We're working to cultivate the next generation of mathematicians, scientists and innovators by forming partnerships, harnessing the power of human capital and implementing new approaches," said Linda Padon, general manager of Corporate Public Policy for Chevron.
Supporting Nonprofit Organizations
In 2009, we created the California Partnership, an ongoing initiative to invest in economic development and STEM education, with a focus on underserved communities where we have operations across our home state. Nonprofit organizations and multiple public school districts across California benefit. Organizations that are selected to participate have demonstrated innovative approaches with proven track records for delivering economic and educational benefits to those in need.
One of the organizations we support within California and other U.S. states is Project Lead The Way, a national provider of rigorous STEM education for middle school and high school students. In California, the Project Lead The Way program has grown by about 35 percent in each of the past three years and now serves more than 30,000 students in 276 schools and 115 school districts.
"Ninety percent of students with experience in Project Lead The Way who enter a four-year engineering program graduate, whereas that rate is 50 percent for those who do not," said Project Lead The Way's Bruce Westermo. "Our partnership with Chevron works to increase the number and quality of engineers and technologists."
Chevron supports Project Lead The Way in regions near company facilities in Bakersfield, El Segundo, Sacramento, Richmond and other parts of California. We invested in an expansion of Project Lead The Way curriculum from one school to eight schools near our Bakersfield facility in Kern County, benefiting nearly 700 students.
At the heart of our efforts in California is a focus on multisector partnerships to improve STEM education. Chevron provides funding for the Young Innovators Club in Kern County. The after-school program is a collaboration between Taft College and Lincoln Junior High School that reinforces STEM concepts students learn in Project Lead The Way classes. Students use computer software for 3-D modeling; build robots and airplanes; and learn about energy, the environment and physics. Teachers at Lincoln have access to extra classroom resources thanks to Chevron's statewide partnership with the online nonprofit DonorsChoose.org.
Inspiring Students Through Hands-on Experience
In Richmond, California, our California Partnership has brought new hands-on learning opportunities to students. Richmond High School used Chevron funding to introduce Project Lead The Way curriculum to their Engineering Academy. The city of Richmond, the West Contra Costa Unified School District and Chevron also collaborated to fund and install a computer lab at the school to support Project Lead The Way activities.
Bruce Harter, the West Contra Costa superintendent of schools, noted, "This computer lab is a great example of how the public and private sectors can work and cooperate with each other to have a huge impact on people's lives. It will feed a real hunger among many of our students for advanced classes and training."
We also invest in Richmond High School's after-school robotics program. Students in the program participate in national competitions. At the 2011 Bay Area Science Festival, the students showcased Chompy the Robot to more than 15,000 visitors at the Chevron Exploration Village.
Beyond Chevron's financial investments in education, the company matches employees' contributions to nonprofits, and employees volunteer to help students through Chevron Humankind, our U.S. employee and retiree giving and volunteer program.
Chevron automation engineer Brandon Carey volunteers on STEM programs in Bakersfield. "I'm excited to get engaged with the younger students and get those individuals to see how fun it is to be involved in this type of work. Early engagement helps prepare them to be of great value to the community."
Updated: May 2012