5 Worcester Students Get STEM Scholarships

From the Keolis Commuter Services:

October 25 2019

Keolis Celebrates STEM Week, Announces $25,000 in Scholarships Awarded to Local Students
$100,000 has been awarded to 100 students since 2016

BOSTON – October 24, 2019 – Keolis Commuter Services (Keolis), the MBTA’s operating partner for Commuter Rail, announced today that it has awarded $25,000 to local students as part of the 2019 Keolis Scholars program. Twenty-five students from Boston, Brockton, Lawrence, Lynn and Worcester will use the $1,000 gift to help pay for post-secondary education or job training. This is the fourth year Keolis has awarded scholarships. Since the program began in 2016, the total amount of scholarship money awarded has reached $100,000 for 100 students, with 60 percent of those students pursuing degrees in a STEM field (science, technology, engineering and math).

“At Keolis, we are all extremely proud of our Keolis Scholars and the opportunity to support their college education and workforce training,” said David Scorey, Keolis General Manager and CEO. “Part of our corporate mission is help strengthen the communities we serve not only with climate-friendly transit but also the people and organizations within our network. I can’t think of a better way to do that than supporting students and their education and encouraging them to enter a STEM field.”

The scholarship awards are announced as Massachusetts celebrates STEM Week. Organized by the Executive Office of Education, it is a statewide effort to boost the interest, awareness and ability for all learners to envision themselves in STEM education and employment opportunities.

The theme for the second annual statewide STEM Week is “See Yourself in STEM.” Women, people of color, first-generation students, low-income individuals, English language learners, and people with disabilities are underrepresented in STEM industries and make up an increasing portion of the overall workforce, but the demographics of STEM fields have remained largely the same.

Keolis works with city and school districts with large populations of under-served communities and first-generation families to select Keolis Scholars and distribute awards, which were based on both merit and financial need. More than 60 percent of Keolis Scholars are pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and math. All of the 2019 Keolis Scholars will be attending programs, colleges and universities in the New England region.

Included below are the names of the students who were named 2019 Keolis Scholars, along with their declared school and intended major.

• Robert Jackson, Broadcasting, Fitchburg State University
• Jonny Le, Biochemistry, Northeastern University
• Maryssa Leone, Engineering, Quinsigamond Community College
• Tu Nguyen, University of Massachusetts Boston
• Ohemaa Prempah, Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Keolis Commuter Services operates and maintains the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Commuter Rail system. The fifth largest commuter rail operation in North America, the system carries approximately 127,000 daily passengers throughout the greater Boston area and services 139 stations over 394 miles. Keolis is a subsidiary of Keolis North America (KNA), both headquartered in Boston, and employs approximately 2,500 people throughout the region. Keolis and KNA are part of Keolis Group, an innovative global leader in transit services with more than a century of passenger transportation experience and operations in 16 countries.

This press release was produced by the Keolis Commuter Services. The views expressed here are the author’s own.