Avalon High School Senior Daniel Silva Rios was recently awarded a scholarship from Southern California Edison to help fund his college education. Silva Rios was one of 30 California students to receive a $40,000 scholarship spread out over four years.
At the time of his application, Silva Rios said he had not decided on a school, but that he intended to study electrical engineering. His primary concern is climate change and he is hopeful that degree in electrical engineering will allow him to work on combating the effects of climate change. He noted in an application video that his belief was that the long drought the region and island recently got out of, was evidence of the dangers of climate change.
“I believe climate change is a major issue that my generation is going to have to face,” Silva Rios said.
Silva Rios spoke of the 50 percent reduction in water usage that islanders had to endure to get through the drought. He is optimistic that changes in power production can help combat climate change and that electrical engineering will help by creating more efficient wind and solar production, as well as developing better battery storage for power supplies.
The 30 students have garnered $1.2 million in scholarships by Edison International to pursue science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) studies.
“We are very proud of these students and their outstanding academic achievements,” said Pedro Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International. “The scholarships provide financial support to these deserving scholars and their families so they can focus on their studies. We are counting on them to help us innovate and turn big ideas into real-world solutions and we know they have a bright future ahead.”
According to SCE, half of this year’s recipients will be first-generation college students. Since 2006, more than $11 million in scholarships have been awarded to 670 high school seniors through the Edison Scholars Program, SCE noted in a release on the scholarships.
