San Jac ranked among nation’s best

The rankings are out and San Jacinto College is ranked 15th in the nation in awarding associate degrees among more than 1,100 community colleges throughout the country. The College also ranks eighth in awarding the associate degree to Hispanic students, second in sciences and science technologies, and 17th in engineering degrees. These Community College Week rankings come along with a national top 10 recognition by the Aspen Institute.

Popeyes awards scholarship to firefighter cadet

In addition to its famous menu, Popeyes recently served up a portion of its Houston-area restaurant sales to fund scholarships for aspiring Houston firefighters like San Jacinto College Firefighter Training Academy cadet Chelsea Sibrian. With her $1,500 Popeyes scholarship, Sibrian can focus on her fire protection training at San Jacinto College while also working as an emergency medical technician (EMT). She graduated in the summer with an EMT certification from the Dr. Kirk Lewis Career & Technical High School in the Pasadena Independent School District. “I want to go into this career because it’s something I am very passionate about,” said Sibrian. “I decided to attend San Jacinto College because I heard that it’s one of the best firefighter academies, and with the help of this scholarship, I can now train there.” Read more at sanjac.edu/article/chelsea-sibrian.

ExxonMobil awards scholarships

Thanks to ExxonMobil, $45,000 in scholarships were presented in Fall 2016 to 34 selected students from across the nine community colleges that make up the Texas Gulf Coast Consortium of Community Colleges and the Community College Petrochemical Initiative (CCPI), now in its fourth year. With the Gulf Coast area petrochemical industry needing more than 50,000 new workers within the decade, CCPI has spread the word across the region that typical salaries in this expanding industry average nearly $100,000 and opportunities are available with those who possess the necessary skills.