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Toyota Rewards Academic Excellence in STEM-Related Fields

In celebration of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Toyota is pleased to announce that it awarded scholarships to 22 Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) students for post-secondary education in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The annual scholarship is offered through a collaborative partnership between Toyota and the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing college scholarships to APIAs. The 2016 student recipients were each awarded $5,000 in funding towards a degree in a STEM field for their first two years of college.

Published 8 years ago | About a 2 minute read

The fifth annual event was held at the Toyota Automobile Museum on May 10, 2016 and included an awards dinner and reception, as well as a panel discussion on the theme, “How do you build and develop careers and teams?” Toyota executives Karen Ideno, Doug Murtha, Mindy Zhang, and Toyota team members Alexandra Chau and Chihiro Kurokawa shared their unique experiences with the scholars as they prepare for college entry in the fall.

“I’d like to thank Toyota for helping me fulfill my pursuit of higher education,” says scholarship recipient Joy Hsu, who was recently accepted to Stanford University with a major in computer science. “I will definitely put the scholarship to good use, becoming a better person and empowering others on my journey.”

This year’s scholarship recipients were selected from more than 8,000 applicants with majors ranging from biochemistry to computer engineering, and school selections from the University of California at Berkeley to Stanford University. The students, whose heritages trace to five countries in the API region (including Vietnam, China, the Philippines, India and Korea), were also recognized for their achievements by local Los Angeles government officials.

“Through this annual scholarship program, Toyota’s partnership with APIASF is a natural extension of our corporate giving priorities,” says Tracey Doi, Toyota group vice president and chief financial officer. “Toyota is proud to recognize academic excellence among diverse and underserved populations in our local communities, and to support each scholar’s academic dreams in his or her unique STEM career path.”

Doi is an advocate of Toyota Asian American Society in Alliance (TAASiA), an employee resource group that continuously leverages the strength of a growing APIA population within Toyota to foster an environment and corporate culture of diversity and inclusion.

In addition to Toyota’s corporate contribution, the Toyota Giving Circles, a program that allows team members to donate to their chosen charity, TAAP (Toyota Asian American Powered by associates) and NFTA (Network of Filipino Toyota Associates) subsidized two of the scholarships in partnership with Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP).

As part of an expanding commitment to investing in its scholarship recipients, Toyota is offering a paid summer internship to one of its 2016 Toyota APIASF scholarship recipients. The intern will have the unique opportunity to experience a workplace environment, acquire the interpersonal skills necessary to succeed on the job, and will have the chance to gain valuable insights into his or her long-term career goals.