CITGO Commemorates National STEM Day with Local Events and Approximately $840,000 in Grants to Schools in Illinois, Louisiana and Texas

HOUSTON, Nov. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CITGO Petroleum Corporation is investing approximately $840,000 to support 35 STEM-focused initiatives across Illinois, Louisiana, and Texas. The funding is part of the CITGO STEM Program, which aims to increase the number of students graduating high school and entering STEM-related post-secondary programs leading toward technical and professional careers in their community.

The grants coincide with National STEM Day (Saturday, November 8), and several STEM events CITGO is sponsoring throughout November with its community partners including field trips with CITGO Innovation Academies, Girls Exploring Math and Science (GEMS) Day at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, STEM Day at the Lakefront in Lake Charles, La., and STEM Night events at schools in Lemont and Lockport, Illinois, and Corpus Christi, Texas.

"STEM skills are the foundation of what drives innovation and progress for companies like CITGO," said Kresha Sivinski, CITGO Vice President of Human Resources and Support Services. "Our goal with the STEM Program is to fund programs that capture the imagination and interest of the next generation of engineers, scientists, and professionals in finance, IT and other disciplines."

At the heart of the CITGO STEM Program are two cornerstone initiatives: CITGO Innovation Academies and the CITGO Innovation Scholarship Program.

• The CITGO Innovation Academies are STEM-focused educational programs designed to build a K-12 pipeline of future innovators in communities near CITGO's operational areas. CITGO supports 14 Innovation Academies in Illinois, Louisiana, and Texas, reaching an average of 30,000 students and educators annually.
  
  
• The CITGO Innovation Scholarship Program provides $2,000 scholarships to high school students who plan to continue their education in college and are pursuing a STEM major, and to college students who have participated in a CITGO internship or co-op program and are pursuing higher education with an interest in the energy industry. In 2025, scholarships were awarded to 25 CITGO Innovation Academy students and 21 college students.

In addition to supporting the Innovation Academies, CITGO offers grants to schools in underserved areas to drive interest and exploration in STEM, particularly in hands-on learning in coding, robotics, and engineering.

Recipients of 2025 CITGO STEM grants include the following:

Illinois

• CITGO Innovation Academies at:
  • Lemont High School District 210
  • Lemont-Bromberek School District 113A
  • Lockport Township High School District 205
• Grants
  • Valley View School District 365-U
• Robotics/STEM Mini Grants
  • Taft District 90
  • Will County School District 92
  • Valley View School District 365U (Romeoville High School)

Louisiana

• CITGO Innovation Academies in Calcasieu Parish at:
  • E.K. Key Elementary School
  • LeBlance Middle School
  • Sulphur High School
• Grants
  • Maplewood Middle School
  • W.W. Lewis Middle School
• Robotics/STEM Mini Grants
  • Barbe High School
  • Dolby Elementary School
  • Region 5 STEM Center
  • Vinton High School Robotics Program

Texas
Corpus Christi

• CITGO Innovation Academies
  • Cunningham Middle School at South Park (Corpus Christi ISD)
  • Dr. J.A. Garcia Elementary School (Corpus Christi ISD)
  • Foy H. Moody High School (Corpus Christi ISD)
  • West Oso Independent School District
• Grants
  • Boys & Girls Clubs of the Coastal Bend
• Robotics/STEM Mini Grants
  • Rafael Galvan Elementary School (Corpus Christi ISD)
  • Richard King High School (Corpus Christi ISD)
  • Sterling B. Martin Middle School (Corpus Christi ISD)
  • Tuloso-Midway Independent School District

Houston
CITGO Innovation Academies in Alief Independent School District at

• • Alief Early College High School
  • E.A. Olle Middle School
  • Klentzman Intermediate School

• Grants
  • Girlstart
  • Houston City College Foundation
• Robotics/STEM Mini Grants in Spring Branch ISD
  • Landrum Middle School
  • Northbrook High School
  • Spring Oaks Middle School
  • Spring Woods Middle School

Region-wide
William Marsh Rice University - BuoyBead biotechnology kits for schools throughout Illinois, Louisiana and Texas

About CITGO

CITGO Petroleum Corporation is a recognized leader in the refining industry and operates under the well-known CITGO brand. CITGO owns and operates three refineries located in Lake Charles, La.; Lemont, Ill.; and Corpus Christi, Texas, and wholly and/or jointly owns 42 active terminals, eight pipelines and three lubricants blending and packaging plants. With approximately 3,300 employees and a combined crude capacity of approximately 807,000 barrels-per-day (bpd), CITGO ranks as the fifth largest and is one of the most complex independent refiners in the United States. CITGO transports and markets transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products, and supplies a network of approximately 4,000 locally owned and independently operated branded retail outlets, all located east of the Rocky Mountains. CITGO Petroleum Corporation is owned by CITGO Holding, Inc.

SOURCE CITGO Petroleum Corporation