Ballast Point has awarded two full scholarships as part of its inaugural Brewing for Diversity partnership with the UC San Diego Extension Brewing Program.
The scholarship program grants underrepresented students full tuition and related fees for those starting or continuing in the UC San Diego Extension’s Brewing Certificate Program as well as the opportunity to complete a paid internship at Ballast Point in San Diego to gain real-world insight into brewery production and operations.
The selection committee, composed of members of Ballast Point, UC San Diego Extension, and the Inclusion Committee of the San Diego Brewers Guild, was originally tasked with presenting one recommended recipient from the strong pool of applicants. Finding it difficult to narrow down from the final two after reviewing the committee’s notes and the candidate’s personal essays, it was decided that both candidates should receive a scholarship in the program’s kick-off year.
According to the Brewers Association’s brewery employee diversity data, current race and ethnicity demographics of U.S. brewery employees skew overwhelmingly white for production staff (76.2%) and brewers (89%), and exceedingly male with only 7.5 percent of brewers in the U.S. identifying as female.
“We were honored to meet all of the scholarship finalists and couldn’t be more proud of Skylar and Elia,” said Laura Fandino, Extension’s Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs. “Both candidates possess exemplary leadership qualities, passion for fermentation science, and desire to positively impact the interaction between communities and the craft beer industry as a whole.”
The Brewing for Diversity scholarship application window for 2022 is open now through May 2022. Interested applicants can visit UC San Diego Extension for more information. For more information about this year’s recipients, visit the UC San Diego Extension blog.
Photo Courtesy Ballast Point
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