BP donates $15,000 for scholarships, supplies for COM students
Continuing its decades-long support of College of the Mainland and education, BP Texas City Chemicals donated $15,000 to College of the Mainland Foundation to help make an education financially possible for outstanding COM students.
One donation will fund five scholarships of $1,000 each for students in the COM Process
Technology Program. A second $5,000 contribution will provide supplies and equipment
for the COM Process Technology Program, while a third $5,000 donation will be used
for scholarships for COM Collegiate High School students majoring in STEM or technical
fields. Collegiate High School students can earn an associate degree and a high school
diploma simultaneously.
BP Texas City Chemicals Plant Manager Pete Nowobilski said that the partnership over
many years has benefitted BP and other area industries, providing well-trained petrochemicals
employees.
"Supporting COM's PTEC program helps ensure that the petrochemicals industry has a
pool of well-trained potential employees. It also gives BP the opportunity to support
critical technology training so that graduates can qualify for good-paying jobs,"
Nowobilski said.
BP is America’s largest energy investor, investing more than $55 billion in the last
five years. The company is the nation’s second-largest producer of oil and gas and
a leading supplier of the chemicals used to make essential everyday products, from
plastic bottles to clothing and fiberglass auto bodies. Throughout all 50 states,
BP business activities help support more than 260,000 total jobs and contribute tens
of millions of dollars to academic research, educational initiatives and recruitment
activities.
“We appreciate BP’s support of the Process Technology Program since the program’s
inception,” said COM Foundation director Mary Ann Amelang. “Industry partnerships
are what have helped make the COM Process Technology Program and Collegiate High School
Program so successful.”
The COM Process Technology Program coordinates with industry representatives to train
students for in-demand jobs. Starting salaries for COM graduates with technical degrees
average $73,509 annually – the highest average starting salary of any university or
college graduate in the state, according to a study by College Measures.
Challenging themselves academically, COM Collegiate High School students can take
any class on the COM campus while remaining eligible for extracurricular activities
at their home high schools. COM Collegiate High School is open to students in Clear
Creek ISD, Dickinson ISD, Hitchcock ISD, Friendswood ISD, La Marque ISD, Santa Fe
ISD, Texas City ISD and Premiere Learning Academy, as well as private and home school
students.
The mission of the COM Foundation is to support and encourage educational excellence
at COM through funding scholarships for deserving students. To learn more, visit www.com.edu/giving.