SULPHUR, Louisiana – Sept. 19, 2017 – CITGO Lake Charles looks for opportunities to award deserving local students for academic excellence and recently awarded $5,000 in scholarship funds to McNeese State University Business students. The MSU business scholarship recipients each received a $1,000 scholarship towards their college education – a share of the $5,000 scholarship funds that CITGO awards to Business students annually. 

Business students awarded included: Olivia Karam, management major and CITGO employee; Alla Voth, accounting major; Morgan Hawkins, marketing major; Brandon Robert, accounting major and McCall Monceaux, accounting major.

Art Klein, CITGO Interim Vice President and General Manager, CITGO Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex, said the scholarships offer deserving students the opportunity to continue their education. “It is our goal at CITGO to equip the next generation workforce with the tools they need to succeed. These scholarships are our way of rewarding these students for their hard work and dedication to academic excellence,” Klein said.

The CITGO scholarships are one more example of how CITGO supports education locally. 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 is partnered with four Calcasieu Parish public schools: Sulphur High School, Sulphur High 9th Grade Campus, E.K. Key Elementary School and the Calcasieu Parish Alternative Site. In addition, CITGO promotes STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education through the CITGO STEM Talent Pipeline Program in Southwest Louisiana which provides resources and curriculum to students and teachers. CITGO is also a sponsor of McNeese State University and SOWELA Technical Community College. 

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.