Recently the Heavy/Medium Duty Diesel Truck Technology Department, a green-conscious mouthful of a department at San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) just received their second round of gracious bounty: the Environmental Champions Award of $25,000 by Sempra Energy. More specifically a Career Technical Education program, the alternative fuel program for CNG/Electric/Hybrid vehicles is getting attention-fueled among community colleges.

The department, whose new funds help accelerate learning for students applying for an Associate Degree or Certification, also provide a fundamental learning service: the funds will be used to purchase a clean heavy duty, natural gas engine that students may inspect and study. This year’s reward is an echo of last year’s, when $20,000 was allocated to the program which were used to purchase vital accessories, such as all types of diagnostic rubber-coated tools used for hybrid gas-electric engines.

This CNG-focused truck technology program is ripe for growth and subsequent employment, and allows students interested in clean energy and hybrid automotive technology to gain and hone their technical skills. “The program, and by extension the clean energy field, is in demand for students,” notes Karen Childers, Director of Development & Community Relations at SBVC. Prospective students can apply to the program as normal, and can swiftly move onto advanced training on CNG heavy duty vehicles.

The department faculty members and students are in deep gratitude to Sempra Energy for supplying the program with resources without the program could not be as robust as it is. The success of students acquiring employment after graduating the program is but a ripple of what Valley College envisions the Medium/Heavy Duty Diesel Truck Technology program to be in the near future.

If you’re looking to enter a field that is vast, technical, boundless, and environmental—and you also like the idea of being employed (we do), sign up now and be on your way to learning technology you can brag about you help save the planet in the everyday.