The Brownsville Public Utilities Board (BPUB) awarded 10 scholarships, each worth $1,000, through its Project SHARE Program to local graduating high school students attending an accredited university this fall.
The funds for these scholarships come from Project SHARE, a program created in 1985 to assist families in paying their utility bills. BPUB began a scholarship program in 2005 for students living in BPUB-serviced homes and has since been providing financial assistance toward students’ college education.
“Congratulations to the recipients of the Project SHARE Scholarship,” General Manager & CEO John S. Bruciak said. “The committee received many applications from local students and the competition was strong. I hope the scholarship alleviates some financial burden for the students’ first semester in college. Good luck!”
Winners were required to fill out an application that listed things like grades and extracurricular activities in addition to the 500-word essay. All winners are required to reside in a household that receives any of BPUB’s three utilities services: electric, water or wastewater.
In recent years, Constellation Renewables Partners, LLC (formerly known as ExGen Renewables Partners), has assisted BPUB in funding these scholarships. Constellation Renewables Partners owns the Sendero Wind Project, and BPUB owns all of the clean electricity that it generates. Like BPUB, Constellation Renewables Partners is committed to giving back to the communities that it serves.
This year’s winners are:
| Celeste Villarreal | Veterans Memorial Early College High School | University of Texas At San Antonio |
| Octavio Alvarado Huerta | Veterans Memorial Early College High School | The University of Texas at Austin |
| Vivian Cardona | Veterans Memorial Early College High School | The University of Texas at Austin |
| Pamela Herrera | Brownsville Early College High School | University of Texas Rio Grande Valley |
| Kayla Guzman | Simon Rivera Early College High School | Texas A&M University |
| James Puckett | Veterans Memorial Early College High School | Rice University |
| Christina Cardenas-Moreno | Brownsville Early College High School | University of Texas Rio Grande Valley |
| Derik Gutierrez | Simon Rivera Early College High School | Texas A&M University |
| Viancy Duran | Lopez Early College High School | Texas A&M University |
| Diego Arias | Simon Rivera Early College High School | University of Texas at Austin |