ESA is honored to present two students—Marlon Edwards and Tamira Moore—with its 2021 ESA Scholarship Program grants. Driven by the firm’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Committee, and now in its second year, the scholarship program was established to provide financial assistance to individuals from historically underrepresented groups pursuing careers in the many professional fields represented at ESA.
Each year, ESA’s employee-owners have the opportunity to participate in the Scholarship Program selection process by bringing forward organizations to partner with in presenting the grants. The DEI Committee then makes its selections and works with the organization(s) to identify deserving individuals. In 2021, ESA sponsored scholarships in the amount of $5,000 each for Edwards and Moore through its partnership with the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE).
“Once again, I am in awe of the applicants to our Scholarship Program, and it was inspiring to read about each of their aspirations to work toward a more sustainable and energy-efficient future,” said ESA President and CEO Leslie Moulton-Post. “We sincerely congratulate Marlon and Tamira and look forward to following their accomplishments, and to another prosperous program in 2022.”
Edwards is pursuing his undergraduate degree with a concentration in Artificial Intelligence. He plans to apply his knowledge to modernize smart grid solutions and improve current prediction models to tackle challenges in renewable energy, such as weather fluctuations. Innovation, according to Edwards, is essential for future systems to become resilient and scalable.
Moore is pursuing her undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering. In her application essay, she stated that she aspires to engineer a product that will greatly impact the energy industry, particularly after witnessing the flaws in windmill use as an energy source during this February’s Texas snowstorm. She hopes to research, develop, and design a product that will allow windmills and solar panels to continue providing energy even when their primary sources are low or nonexistent. AABE presented Edwards and Moore with their scholarships during a virtual celebration.
Recognizing the success of the scholarship program and the opportunities it has created for a number of students since its inception in 2019, ESA has increased its scholarship fund to $25,000 for 2022 and will be sharing more about the organizations it will be partnering with in the coming months.
