Salinas: PG&E Bright Minds Scholarship Awarded to Student Who Works Nights to Support Family

SALINAS — PG&E today (May 27) awarded a $20,000-a-year scholarship to a community college student who attends school full-time and works nights as a machinist to support his wife and two children.

From left, PG&E’s Rob Morse, student Julio Medina and Hartnell College President Willard LeWallen during the surprise announcement that Medina is the winner of a $20,000-a-year PG&E Bright Minds scholarship.

Julio Medina, who will be a sophomore at Hartnell College in Salinas this fall, was utterly surprised with the news he had won a PG&E Bright Minds Scholarship.

PG&E’s Rob Morse stuns Julio Medina with the news that he’s one of 10 big winners of this year’s Bright Minds Scholarship program. (Photos by Nick Smith.)

School president Willard LeWallen called Medina to his office under the guise of learning about his college plans. They then walked to a conference room where the student was greeted with cries of “Surprise!” from PG&E representatives as TV cameras captured his reaction.

Medina said the scholarship will completely change his life by supplementing his income to allow him to focus on his education. He applied for the scholarship last year but didn’t win, so he re-applied this year.

“I cannot believe this has happened,” he said. “The hard work really did pay off. I wasn’t going to give up. I applied again and look what happened. Dreams come true.”

Later, he called his parents and wife and told them the news.

Medina is the first person in his family to attend college. After earning his associate’s degree, he plans to transfer to a four-year college to study mechanical engineering. His dream is to design automotive engines.

20K for Julio Medina – PG&E’s Bright Minds Scholarship Winner

From left, PG&E’s Rob Morse, student Julio Medina and Hartnell College President Willard LeWallen during the surprise announcement that Medina is the winner of a $20,000-a-year PG&E Bright Minds scholarship.

Medina is one of 10 big winners of the utility’s fourth annual Bright Minds Scholarship program. Each will receive a scholarship worth as much as $100,000 — $20,000 a year for five years toward an undergraduate degree. Another 90 recipients will each receive $2,000 scholarships.

LeWallen said Medina was more than worthy of the scholarship.

“Julio has grit,” he said. “He is the personification of everything we do here at Hartnell. Hard work, positive focus, no excuses and producing a quality product. That’s Julio.”

Since the program’s inception in 2012, the program has committed $3 million in scholarships to 400 students throughout Northern and Central California.

Rob Morse, Central Coast Division senior manager for PG&E, said PG&E is proud to support its local communities by providing a path for talented and driven students to achieve their dreams of higher education.

“It is gratifying to know that by awarding scholarships to accomplished students like Julio Medina, we are helping them reach their full potential,” Morse said. “It is a bright investment in tomorrow.”

Click PG&E Bright Minds to read about other 2015 Bright Minds winners. Email Currents at currents@pge.com.