Pasadena Water and Power Adds Trade Scholarship to Annual Student Awards

Pasadena Water and Power has added a new wrinkle to its annual student scholarship program: for the first time, the city-owned utility is offering money for students headed to trade school.

The $1,000 Utility Trade Scholarship, open to Pasadena residents studying or planning to study a utility trade at a vocational school or community college, joins PWP’s long-running Educational Scholarship for college-bound high school seniors. The utility is also accepting entries for its annual “Being Water Wise Is …” Student Art Contest. PWP announced the three programs in a press release issued on Feb. 11.

The trade scholarship is new for 2026. PWP said it expanded the program to reach students at technical and vocational schools and community colleges, not just those planning to attend four-year institutions. One Pasadena resident will receive $1,000 toward tuition at a Southern California vocational or community college for the 2026-2027 academic year.

The Educational Scholarship, which PWP has awarded for years, honors two Pasadena high school seniors with awards of $5,000 for first place and $2,500 for second. Recipients may use the funds at any two- or four-year accredited post-secondary institution.

Applicants for either scholarship must submit a three-to-five-minute video responding to one of the program’s prompts. The deadline for both is March 27, 2026.

“We’re really excited and proud of what we do with our local schools,” David Reyes, PWP’s general manager, said in a recent interview with the American Public Power Association. “We provide resources for education starting in second grade and then we continue that and we provide scholarships for high school students going to college.”

The video format is now in its second year. In 2024, PWP required a written essay; the program shifted to video submissions in 2025.

Separately, K-12 students living within PWP’s service territory can enter the “Being Water Wise Is …” Art Contest, a joint program with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Students submit original artwork reflecting a water conservation theme, along with a short message about stewardship. Accepted media include digital art, crayons, markers, pencils, paints, watercolors, chalk, and cut paper or fabric. Art submissions are due by April 30, 2026, via email and mail.

Winning entries are submitted to MWD for possible inclusion in the regional water district’s student art calendar, according to prior PWP announcements.

PWP is a not-for-profit utility owned and operated by the City of Pasadena, serving more than 65,000 electric customers and nearly 38,000 water customers in Pasadena and adjacent San Gabriel Valley communities.

Details on both scholarships and the art contest are available at PWPweb.com/Education. The scholarship program page is at PWPweb.com/Scholarship, and art contest information is at PWPweb.com/ArtContest.