Toyota Foundation seeks students for scholarships
Nancy Navales, vice president of Toyota of Puerto Rico.
As part of its mission to strengthen environmental awareness among the island’s young people, Toyota Foundation invites students to apply for its college scholarship program. This financial aid will help promote the training of future professionals interested on understanding and preserving the natural resources in Puerto Rico.
For nearly 20 years, the Toyota Foundation Environmental Scholarship Program has aided dozens of college students to pursue academic careers related to science and the environment. To date, Toyota Foundation has awarded close to 200 scholarships, which represent an investment of close to $500,000.
This year the call to award the scholarships, of up to $2,500 each, ends May 27. Some of the requirements are: an academic average of 3.5 or more; to be accepted to an undergraduate program in an accredited university; to be registered as a full time student with a minimum of 12 credits and to prove financial need.
“For the past 19 years we have been supporting young people that, as we do in Toyota, have proved outstanding academic achievement and have commitment to the environment,” said Nancy Navales, vice president of Toyota de Puerto Rico.
“They must be interested on studying or are currently studying careers that strengthen environmental causes and the conservation of the planet,” she said.
“These scholarships are an instrument to develop professionals that will contribute to the study, research and preservation of our environment. To contribute to this process is a privilege because this is an initiative that is consonant with Toyota’s corporate environmental policies at local and international level,” said Navales.
The students who have received the environmental scholarship from Toyota Foundation have focused their studies in various fields, including agriculture, ecology, forestry, environmental management, environmental science, geology, earth sciences, geophysics, horticulture, botany, marine biology, oceanography, meteorology, science, zoology, wildlife management, microbiology, archeology, anthropology and geography.
“I’m really very grateful to have participated in the environmental scholarships program. The financial support helped to cover my expenses during my exchange program abroad,” said Mariam D. Estavillo Torrellas, a third-year student on Coastal Marine Biology at the University of Puerto Rico, Humacao campus.
“It helped me to continue my studies, to keep reaching my goals and setting new ones,” she said.
The application and additional information is available aquí or by calling Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico, the institution that manages these funds, at 787-721-1037 o 787-721-1147.
Students selected to receive the donation can renovate their grant each year until they complete their college studies, as long as they comply with all the requirements, Toyota said.
