SoCal teens with aspirations in STEM fields receive $50,000 scholarships

Thirty California high school students who plan to study science, technology, engineering and math have received the surprise of a lifetime.

Edison International awarded them $50,000 checks to help them achieve their dreams in surprise events this month.

“These are the moments where you kind of feel like, ‘Oh yeah, all those late nights were worth it,’” Alice Dos Santos, a scholarship winner and student at Canyon Springs High School in Moreno Valley, said. “And it feels very reassuring, I feel very validated.”

Riley Houser, a Citrus Valley High School student and an incoming mechanical engineering technology major, was named an Edison scholar at the Redlands campus after being accepted into Yale University earlier this school year.

“This is a real big honor,” Houser said as she received her check. “I’m so thankful you chose me.”

Anelle Priebe-Garcia, an awardee from Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, plans to use the money to study civil engineering and set an example for the next generation of women interested in STEM careers.

Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro said presenting scholarships is one of his favorite parts of the year. He gave Millie Lombera a financial award at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights.

“That just gives me a lot of hope into my future — that not just my family and my school admin believe in me, but that somebody else does as well,” Lombera said. “That’s just really assuring that I can make it.”

Pizarro said the scholarship program is funded by Edison International shareholders, not their customers’ rates. 

Each award is paid over the course of four years and allows students the opportunity to apply for a paid summer internship with Southern California Edison after completing their first year of college, according to Edison International.

Adam Hacker, a student at Redwood High School in Visalia, said the wait was intense after applying for the scholarship. He monitored the website closely, watching as checks were handed out one by one.

“When it was getting to the last 10, I’m going to have to start bracing myself like, ‘Maybe this isn’t the opportunity for me,’” Hacker said.

But on April 3, Edison International and Hacker’s parents came to one of his classes to tell him he had been selected. He plans to study electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, in the fall.

All 30 winners are listed by name on the Edison Scholars 2024 Spotlight page.