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Dominion Energy is awarding $500,000 in scholarships in 2021 to assist African American and other underrepresented minority students who reside in the company’s service area. The scholarships will be the first made under the Dominion Energy Educational Equity Scholarship Program, a six-year, $10 million initiative to provide assistance with higher education expenses.

“As we witness our country’s evolving conversation on racial equity and social justice, we want to do our part to help historically underserved students,” said Robert M. Blue, Dominion Energy’s president and chief executive officer. “We know that education can serve as a springboard for social and economic mobility.”

“We have partnered with historically black colleges and universities for nearly 40 years, offering volunteer and financial support,” said Thomas F. Farrell, II, Dominion Energy’s executive chairman. “This scholarship program is another way for us to support the students who will one day lead our nation.”

The scholarship application period is open until Jan. 25, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. Central Standard Time.

To be eligible, students must: self-identify as Black or African American; Hispanic or Latino; American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; or Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander with higher education expenses; and be high school seniors or graduates, or current college undergraduates residing in Connecticut, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Wyoming or Utah, with plans to enroll full time at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school for the entire upcoming academic year.

In all, 60 scholarships totaling $500,000 will be awarded in 2021. Of those, 20 scholarships of $5,000 each will be made available for students enrolled in two-year schools, while 40 scholarships of $10,000 each will be awarded to students enrolled in four-year schools. Scholarship recipients will be able to renew scholarships as they progress in school, provided they meet certain criteria, such as GPA requirements and residence in an eligible state. The program is administered by Scholarship America, a nonprofit that specializes in management of scholarship and tuition assistance programs. Scholarship America will support Dominion Energy in the selection of finalists.

Students can learn more and apply at DominionEnergy.com/EquityScholarships.

The company also has committed $25 million to 11 historically black colleges and universities in Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina. The six-year “HBCU Promise” program will support endowments, capital projects, operating expenses and educational programs in clean energy.