Oakland-Area High School Seniors Graduate from Financial Education Program Earning $7,000 PG&E College Scholarships
Partners PG&E, PG&E Foundation, UC Berkeley Haas and The Mills Institute at Northeastern Celebrate New Graduates of Program
OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Twenty-five high school students will receive $7,000 scholarships when they graduate from the PG&E Community Financial Education Program on Saturday (Feb. 7) at the University of California, Berkeley. The program provides students with advanced financial education.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and The PG&E Corporation Foundation (PG&E Foundation) launched the program in 2022 to help build more resilient communities by helping students create a foundation for long-term success and prosperity.
PG&E and its partners, including UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, designed the program for high school seniors from underserved communities to focus on personal finance, capital markets and wealth creation, and investments. Undergraduate students at Haas mentored the high schoolers.
Participants say the skills they acquired will help guide them to future success.
"The PG&E program has helped shape how I approach future financial decisions. It strengthened my understanding of budgeting and taught me how to make informed, responsible choices about my finances, especially as I prepare for the costs of college and life beyond that," said Xariyah White, a student at De Anza High School in Richmond and program graduate this year.
"This program created an on-ramp for me to explore my passion for the business world, while envisioning myself as a UC Berkeley Haas student. As a scholar in the UC Berkeley Haas Spieker four-year program, I am grateful for the PG&E program and the infinite opportunities they create for me to receive continued mentorship and guidance," said Mariah McCoy, a former program participant.
When the PG&E program began in 2022, program partners hoped it could serve as a model for future high school curriculum. In 2024, California passed legislation providing high school students have access to a personal finance course by 2027. The legislation also makes personal finance education a graduation requirement by 2031.
The graduating students completed the course at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business during Saturday classes over six months. Haas professors and financial industry professionals taught the courses. The program also reinforces academic leadership and the value of higher education.
Over the past four years, 96 Oakland-area high school seniors have gone through the program. This year's class brings the total amount of student scholarships funded by the PG&E Corporation to $800,000. PG&E and the PG&E Foundation pay for the program.
Partners Contributions
In addition to the Haas School of Business, other program partners include Berkeley Executive Education, The Mills Institute at Northeastern University and Amenti Capital Group.
The Mills Institute at Northeastern University TRIO Programs recruited student participants through programs aimed at helping underserved high school and first-generation college students.
The curriculum was developed with UC Berkeley Haas Professor and Faculty Director Panos Patatoukas and Jason Miles, a venture capitalist. Miles has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry and founded Amenti Capital Group.
"Now in its fourth year, this program highlights the power of early and broad access to high-quality financial education in expanding opportunity and narrowing persistent wealth gaps. I'm proud of what this partnership has achieved and excited to continue driving positive impact for Bay Area youth," said Patatoukas.
"This program empowers future leaders with early, practical investing knowledge. This education expands access to capital markets by strengthening the pipeline of future founders and investors shaping the global innovative economy. I am deeply committed to catalyzing generational wealth creation alongside like-minded partners and this exceptionally talented community of students," said Miles.
PG&E's Chief Customer Officer and SVP, Customer Experience, Vincent Davis will be a featured speaker at the upcoming graduation.
"We believe education is a powerful catalyst for increasing prosperity in California. By investing in early financial education, we're empowering young people with the confidence, skills, and resources to build brighter financial futures for themselves and our communities," said Davis.
Studies have shown that complex factors across generations affect wealth disparity. One such factor is how personal savings and investment decisions contribute to wealth accumulation.
One student already charting success is Otis Ward, an early graduate of the program who shared his journey in the PG&E short film "Change the System: Building Black Wealth." Ward is currently attending Stanford University.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news
About The PG&E Corporation Foundation
The PG&E Corporation Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, separate from PG&E and sponsored by PG&E Corporation.
About the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
As the second-oldest business school in the United States, UC Berkeley Haas has been questioning the status quo since its founding in 1898. Berkeley Haas offers outstanding management education to about 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students from around the world to attend one of its six degree-granting programs and join the school's network of over 46,000 alumni worldwide.
About Berkeley Executive Education
UC Berkeley Executive Education serves leaders and organizations who aspire to redefine the future of business, delivering over 150 programs annually to a global audience. Its immersive learning experiences, led by renowned UC Berkeley faculty, equip global executives and their organizations with the vision and capabilities to thrive in an evolving world.
About Northeastern University
Founded in 1898, Northeastern is a global research university and the recognized leader in experience-driven lifelong learning. Our world-renowned experiential approach empowers our students, faculty, alumni, and partners to create impact far beyond the confines of discipline, degree, and campus.
Northeastern's comprehensive array of undergraduate and graduate programs — on-campus, online, and in hybrid formats — lead to degrees through the doctorate in nine colleges and schools. Among these, we offer more than 140 multi-discipline majors and degrees designed to prepare students for purposeful lives and careers.
About Amenti Capital Group
Amenti Capital Group is an emerging merchant bank that provides independent advisory services and venture capital to early-stage technology companies in high growth ecosystems. We leverage deep industry knowledge, operational expertise, and longstanding relationships to deliver attractive returns through our end-to-end model. We serve entrepreneurs and sophisticated investors while following our core principles of innovation, integrity and inclusion.
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SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company