College of the Mainland’s Process Technology (PTECH) program has strengthened a burgeoning partnership with Marathon Petroleum through a generous $200,000 scholarship donation from the refining company.

The Marathon Petroleum PTECH Scholarship will support an estimated 110 full-time PTECH students for one year. The scholarship is targeted toward, but not limited to, underrepresented student populations including women and minority PTECH students. Priority will be given to applicants who attended the Texas City Independent School District Industrial Trades Center.

“Marathon Petroleum (MPC) is committed to empowering a diverse array of College of the Mainland students to take advantage of the tremendous employment opportunities within our industry and beyond,” said MPC Galveston Bay Refinery Vice President Kevin Bogard. “Today’s announcement, in addition to our support of Texas City ISD, is a great example of that commitment, and we are grateful for the partnership that exists between MPC and the community we call home.” 

Marathon Petroleum is a leading, integrated, downstream energy company and operates the nation's largest refining system. Located in the heart of Texas City, the company’s Galveston Bay refinery processes a wide variety of crude oils into gasoline, distillates, aromatics, heavy fuel oil, dry gas, fuel-grade coke, refinery-grade propylene, chemical-grade propylene and sulfur.

COM’s PTECH program, which is the first of its kind in the nation to offer an associate degree, provides innovative and dynamic learning opportunities for students through labs, hands-on classes and industry-grade operating equipment. The scholarship will support PTECH students to stay on track as they pursue their degree so that they can graduate on time, enter the workforce, and contribute to the economic sustainability of the surrounding community.

Current COM students can now apply for the scholarship online at https://collegeofthemainland.academicworks.com/.

To learn more about the COM PTECH program, visit www.com.edu/academics/ptec.