FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2014
Danielle McNamara
(510) 987-0230
Press Release
Hundreds of high school students from Southern California will vie for top bragging rights in hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) events at Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Day.
A generous donation by Edison International, parent company of Southern California Edison (SCE), funded the event to be held April 5 at University of California Riverside. Students will compete in events such as the egg drop, prosthetic arm and the mousetrap car.
MESA Days are an annual showcase of students’ math and science know-how. Through MESA and MESA Day competitions, students can explore future careers in science, engineering and other technical fields. The projects help students link the core STEM concepts they learn in the classroom to real world applications.
Hundreds of students from across Southern California will compete. UC Riverside’s MESA Center is served through the Bourns College of Engineering.
Edison International is a longtime supporter of MESA. Edison was a major sponsor of the MESA Student Leadership Conference in 2013. In 2012, Edison was named the MESA Champion for exemplary assistance in fulfilling MESA’s mission to help educationally disadvantaged students in California prepare for college and STEM careers.
“Since 2009, Edison International has given almost $45 million to education programs that help students excel in STEM,” said Tammy Tumbling, director of Philanthropy and Community Investment at SCE. “Our philosophy of giving is that all people should have opportunities to do well. For that reason, we partner with organizations such as MESA that promote the inclusion of minority, low-income and underrepresented students in the STEM fields.”
Students attending the event are served by MESA centers at UC Riverside, San Diego State University, Imperial Valley and Chapman University/UC Irvine.
MESA promotes STEM success for more than 28,000 educationally disadvantaged secondary, community college and four-year college students in California through project-based learning, academic counseling and exposure to STEM careers, so they can graduate from college with math-based degrees. Seventy percent of MESA high school graduates statewide go directly to college after graduation compared to 48 percent of all California graduates. Sixty percent of MESA students go on to math, science or engineering majors.
Edison International (NYSE:EIX), through its subsidiaries, is a generator and distributor of electric power and an investor in infrastructure and energy assets, including renewable energy. Headquartered in Rosemead, Calif., Edison International is the parent company of Southern California Edison, one of the nation’s largest electric utilities.
For more information about MESA visit mesa.ucop.edu. Follow us on Twitter @MESASTEM.
For more information about Edison visit www.sce.com.