ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Oct. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NextEra
Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) today announced American Indian Graduate
Center has launched the NextEra Energy Scholarship Program, a
culturally relevant and Indigenous-centered scholarship
specifically built for Native students pursuing careers in the
field of energy and across Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM) as a whole.
The NextEra Energy Scholarship Program will provide 15
scholarships, each valued at $5,000 a
year, for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a degree in
the fields of energy, environment and cultural sustainability and
preservation. The NextEra Energy Foundation has committed to fund
the scholarship program for the next three years.
"American Indian Graduate Center is excited to partner with
NextEra Energy to create a new program to increase the number of
scholars we impact each year," said Angelique Albert (Confederated Salish &
Kootenai Tribes), American Indian Graduate Center Executive
Director. "We are proud to offer programming that meets the needs
of our students and directly impacts their academic journeys."
"In 2020, over 40% of our scholars were pursuing a degree in a
STEM field. With a rise in applicants pursuing careers in this
sector, it's critical to bolster our programs to empower them.
NextEra Energy's support will allow us to continue our growth and
impact even more Native students."
The NextEra Energy Scholarship Program will focus on education
funding for Tribally identified priorities.
"Scholarships that have the ability to support Tribal Ecological
Knowledge (TEK), languages, traditional food systems and more are
critically needed at this time when our Tribal communities have
identified climate change initiatives, protection of natural
resources, food sovereignty and language immersion programs as
essential," Albert said. "The NextEra Energy Scholarship program
allows us to fund students academically in areas that not only
support our Tribes' well-being, but also allow our TEK to inform
the energy industry as a whole. It's an opportunity to have a
transformative impact in the field."
"We're excited to launch this program as part of NextEra
Energy's commitment to supporting the communities we serve and
those that host our projects," said John
Ketchum, president and CEO of NextEra Energy Resources. "We
want to support the next generation of Native leaders, as well as
honor the work of tribes that collaborate with us in our effort to
decarbonize the electric energy industry while ensuring that we
identify, avoid and protect sensitive tribal resources during
development and construction of renewable projects across the
country."
The scholarship is the latest addition to American Indian
Graduate Center's portfolio of more than 30 scholarships and
support services that are designed specifically to address the
needs of Native students in post-secondary education.
To learn more about American Indian Graduate Center's
scholarships and academic support programs, please visit
www.AIGCS.org.
About American Indian Graduate Center
American Indian
Graduate Center is a national private 501(c)(3) non-profit
providing scholarships to American Indian and Alaska Native
undergraduate, graduate and professional students throughout the
United States. American Indian Graduate Center and American Indian
Graduate Center Scholars have awarded more than $350 million in
scholarships since inception and are proud to empower Native
students from over 500 Tribes in all 50 states with educational
funding and academic support services. For more information, please
visit www.AIGCS.org.
NextEra Energy, Inc.
NextEra Energy, Inc.
(NYSE: NEE) is a leading clean energy company headquartered in
Juno Beach, Florida. NextEra
Energy owns Florida Power &
Light Company, which is the largest vertically integrated
rate-regulated electric utility in the
United States as measured by retail electricity produced and
sold, and serves more than 5.6 million customer accounts,
supporting more than 11 million residents across Florida with
clean, reliable and affordable electricity. NextEra Energy also
owns a competitive clean energy business, NextEra Energy Resources,
LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's
largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun and a
world leader in battery storage. Through its subsidiaries, NextEra
Energy generates clean, emissions-free electricity from seven
commercial nuclear power units in Florida, New
Hampshire and Wisconsin. A
Fortune 200 company, NextEra Energy has been recognized often by
third parties for its efforts in sustainability, corporate
responsibility, ethics and compliance, and diversity. NextEra
Energy is ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry
on Fortune's 2021 list of "World's Most Admired Companies,"
recognized on Fortune's 2021 list of companies that "Change the
World" and received the S&P Global Platts 2020 Energy
Transition Award for leadership in environmental, social and
governance. For more information about NextEra Energy companies,
visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com,
www.GulfPower.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.
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SOURCE NextEra Energy, Inc.