BASF awards $5,000 in scholarships to Southern University engineering students

GEISMAR, LA, November 21, 2016 – BASF awarded $5,000 in scholarships to two engineering students at Southern University in Baton Rouge. This is the fourth year BASF has provided annual scholarships through the BASF Team Chemistry Scholarship Program to support students pursuing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and careers.

“BASF rewards students excelling in STEM-related degree programs at our local colleges and universities because we believe many of these students have the potential to work at BASF in the future," said Tom Yura, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the BASF site in Geismar, Louisiana. “We appreciate the outstanding work of Southern University to prepare engineering students for successful careers and congratulate the scholarship recipients."

Each student received a $2,500 scholarship from BASF. In addition to maintaining excellent grade-point averages, scholarship recipients are active in campus and community organizations.

• Ja'Nae McGee is a junior mechanical engineering major from Missouri City, Texas, and a Dolores Margaret Richard Spikes Honors College scholar. She served as an intern with the Department of Defense's Army Research Lab Synthetic Tissue and Technology Center in Orlando, Florida, and gained research experience as a docent for the Department of Defense Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in Livingston, Louisiana. She also worked as a child development counselor for YMCA in Sugarland, Texas. Ja'Nae is fundraising chair for the Society of Women Engineers and a member of the National Society of Black Engineers, Epsilon Rho Chapter of Pi Sigma Epsilon and Beta Psi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
• Kaylen Scott of Baton Rouge is a junior electrical engineering major, Dean's List scholar and recipient of the Delores Margaret Richard Spikes Honors Scholarship. His work experience includes internships with ExxonMobil Chemical in Baton Rouge, BASF in Geismar and Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge. He is a member of the National Honor Society, National Association of African American Honors Programs and Louisiana Collegiate Honors Council. Kaylen is a sports writer for The Southern Digest student newspaper and is involved in Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) Reading Friend Program and Feed the Homeless.

"Congratulations to our BASF scholars whose impressive accomplishments honor Southern University," said Dr. Ray Belton, President-Chancellor of Southern University. "We acknowledge and appreciate BASF’s ongoing support of higher education, its dedication to our community and its commitment to Southern University."

BASF’s manufacturing presence near Southern University includes operations in Geismar, the corporation’s largest site in North America, Zachary and Vidalia. BASF sites in Louisiana employ a workforce of around 2,000 people and invest nearly $300 million in the state through annual payroll, purchases, taxes and charitable contributions. Visit www.basf.us/la for more information.

For press photos, please click on the following links:

https://www.basf.com/press-photos/us/en/photos/2016/11/11-21-2016_BASF_2016SouthernScholarships1.jpg
Suggested caption: Ja'Nae McGee, a junior mechanical engineering major, was one of two Southern University students to receive a $2,500 BASF Team Chemistry Scholarship.

https://www.basf.com/press-photos/us/en/photos/2016/11/11-21-2016_BASF_2016SouthernScholarships2.jpg
Suggested caption: Kaylen Scott, a junior electrical engineering major, was one of two Southern University students to receive a $2,500 BASF Team Chemistry Scholarship.

https://www.basf.com/press-photos/us/en/photos/2016/11/11-21-2016_BASF_2016SouthernScholarships3.jpg
Suggested caption: Attending the BASF Team Chemistry Scholarship check presentation were, front row from left, Alfred Harrell, Southern University System Foundation; scholarship recipients Kaylen Scott and Ja’Nae McGee; Tamara Montgomery, Director of Southern University's Career Services Center; Dr. Ray Belton, President-Chancellor of Southern University; and Cortny Jarrell, Career Services Center volunteer and Alumni Home Chapter President; and back row from left, BASF employees John McGee and Derek Wells.

About BASF

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has nearly 17,500 employees in North America, and had sales of $17.4 billion in 2015. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, visit www.basf.us.

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 112,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of more than €70 billion in 2015. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at www.basf.com. 

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