LAKE CHARLES, La., Oct. 5, 2016  – The CITGO Lake Charles Refinery recently awarded $15,000 in scholarships to McNeese State University (MSU) Business and Engineering students. The 14 scholarships included five Business scholarships and nine Engineering scholarships to Mechanical and Chemical Engineering students. All scholarship winners received their scholarships through application and based on CITGO scholastic criteria.

The MSU business scholarship recipients each received a $1,000 scholarship towards their college education – a share of $5,000 scholarship funds CITGO awards to Business students annually. The students also received their name on a plaque to be hung in the MSU College of Business. Business students awarded included: Savannah Carter, senior in management and CITGO Procurement Buyer Intern; Olivia Karam, senior in Management and CITGO Human Resources Intern; Hannah Smith, senior in Management; Alla Voth, junior in Management; and Tevin Wilson, senior in General Business Administration.

The MSU Engineering scholarship recipients each received a $1,111.11 scholarship towards their college education – a share of $10,000 annual scholarship funds CITGO awarded to the Mechanical and Chemical disciplines at MSU ($5,000 per discipline). Engineering students awarded included six Mechanical Engineering students: Daniel Decareaux, senior; David Fontenot, May 2016 graduate; Coye Huber, senior; Garrett Soileau, May 2016 graduate; Cory VanNetta, senior; Casey White, senior; and three Chemical Engineering students: Rebecca Ardoin, May 2016 graduate; Stephen Carrier, senior; and Cameron Conley, senior. All of the engineering scholarship winners also recently worked in co-op positions at CITGO.

CITGO Lake Charles Refinery Vice President and General Manager Tomeu Vadell said the scholarships are intended to encourage students to pursue their dreams and to prepare them for the future. “There is a need for qualified workers in every field and especially in business and in STEM disciplines. At CITGO, it is our goal to prepare the future workforce for these positions. CITGO salutes these students for achieving success in their academic careers while pursuing higher education for professional careers in the future.”

The CITGO scholarships are one more example of how CITGO supports education both locally and at the national level. The CITGO Lake Charles Refinery is very active in supporting education at all levels in Calcasieu Parish. CITGO has participated in the Calcasieu Parish school system Partners in Education program since 1988 and currently partners with four Calcasieu Parish public schools: Sulphur High School, Sulphur 9th Grade Campus, E.K. Key Elementary School and Calcasieu Parish Alternative Site. CITGO also supports MSU Athletics in addition to the College of Business and College of Engineering.

About CITGO
CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. The company is owned by CITGO Holding, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more information, visit www.CITGO.com.