Chevron and CSU, Chico Reciprocate Support

Chevron’s Fred Siegmund talks to senior Jeremy Treinen at the Career Planning Center. Treinen received a Chevron Scholarship and is interviewing for a position with the company. (photo JW)

Chevron Senior Technologist Fred Siegmund, a '76 alumnus, said the corporation's increasing support for California State University, Chico fuels a relationship that helps both parties.

"Chevron has benefited from hiring Chico students and sponsoring interns from Chico, and at the same time, we have been able to provide assistance for university departments, programs, and scholarships," said Siegmund.

Chevron has been contributing to the university for the past fifteen years. This year's financial support reached $60,000, a 20 percent increase over the prior year.

Among the areas benefiting are the College of Engineering, Computer Science and Technology, the MESA Engineering Program, the College of Business, the Office of Experiential Education and the Career Planning and Placement Center.

CSU, Chico is one of the top campuses for Siegmund's division, the Chevron Information Technology Company. "Based on who we hired last fall, only CSU, Hayward sent more graduates to us," he said. "Chico was followed by Berkeley, Cal Poly, and San Francisco State."

For a number of years, he and his colleagues recruited from 20 to 30 schools. Recently, the list was narrowed to include only the five California schools listed above, the University of Texas, LSU, and University of Houston.

Siegmund said he knew of 15 to 20 CSU, Chico alumni who were working at Chevron. Some of them had their first contact with Chevron through its internship program with Chico, which began fifteen years ago.

"Students get a lot of practical experience at Chico, and [they] make excellent employees," Siegmund said. "My son is a sophomore right now at Chico."

Siegmund has worked at Chevron since he graduated from CSU, Chico. He specializes in research projects on information technology (a division with 1,800 employees, compared to 33,000 for the entire corporation).

Siegmund was on campus with other recruiters at the Career Planning and Placement Center on February 24. JW