Childhood Acquaintances Who Became Friends For Life – The Tale of Two PG&E Employee Resource Group Scholarship Recipients

The deadline to apply for college scholarships from PG&E’s 11 employee resource groups (ERGs) and two engineering networking groups (ENGs) is Feb. 24. This year, over 150 awards totaling more than $200,000 are available to college-bound high school seniors and undergraduate college students with a primary residence in Northern and Central California.

When Anaiyah Cabrellis (right) was starting her freshman year at Sacramento Charter High School, she went through some childhood photographs and recognized someone from her high school class who was a preschool classmate.

“Anaiyah approached me one day with a picture of us in preschool,” said Serina McMillian (left). “I didn’t realize we went to preschool together.”

“I instantly remembered her once I saw the picture,” said Cabrellis. “I was shocked she was my same friend from preschool so many years ago.”

From that day forward, the two developed a unique relationship that carried them through high school and college. Besides going to the same preschool and high school, they roomed together at Howard University in Washington, D.C. And thanks to encouragement from their high school college counselor, they also applied for and received scholarships from PG&E’s Black Employee Resource Group.

This friendship benefitted them in many ways.

“We definitely hold each other accountable and push each other to be better,” said Cabrellis, whose mother, Nancy, is a PG&E senior business operations specialist at the Sacramento Customer Contact Center.

NOTE: PG&E ERG scholarships are open to all eligible students, regardless of race, gender, identity, or abilities. Eligibility requirements in each application must be met and each application must be properly completed. Scoring is based on an applicant’s stated extra-curricular activities, leadership capabilities and letters of recommendation. PG&E coworker dependents and relatives who apply are reviewed and scored using the same criteria as all applicants.

“When I set a goal for myself or try to start a new positive habit,” added Cabrellis, “Serina tries to encourage me to reach it.”

“In high school, there was a bit of competition between us, but all in love,” said McMillian, who was named Salutatorian of her high school class, while Cabrellis was Valedictorian. “When we attended Howard, we definitely needed one another to navigate, and hold each other accountable.”

“We were both moving across the country to pursue a higher education,” said Cabrellis about their time at Howard. “The future was exciting, unknown and a little scary for both of us. We were so far from home and didn’t know what to expect. We were able to rely on each other for support.”

Their time at Howard wouldn’t have been possible without their PG&E Black ERG scholarships.

“It meant that my goals and dreams of graduating as a first-generation college student seemed in reach and more possible for me,” said Cabrellis. “It gave me hope in my future and in the work I was doing to achieve my goals.”

“The Black ERG scholarship was important for me to be able to go to Howard and afford the education I received,” said McMillian. “It meant a lot to receive it as a Black female attending an Historic Black College or University.”

After being together for four years in high school and another four years in college, Cabrellis and McMillian are going their separate ways. Cabrellis will be going to work for Citi in New York City after she graduates this spring.

McMillian graduated a semester early with a degree in psychology and recently got married to another Howard University alum. She’s going to work for Campus Outreach at North Carolina A&T. In a few years, McMillian wants to pursue a graduate degree in non-profit management.

Both feel that distance and leading different lives won’t change their friendship.

“We will definitely remain very close friends,” said Cabrellis. “I can’t wait to watch the other amazing things Serina will continue to do. Judging from our history and the fact that we went from preschool to high school and to college together, we’ll never allow distance or time to ruin our friendship.”

“We will definitely need to be more intentional in staying connected,” said McMillian. “I’m sure the both of us will be taking trips to visit one another. We’re always rooting for each other.”

And to think their journey has only started, thanks to getting a little help along the way.

“It’s an amazing thing that PG&E’s Black ERG and other ERGs provide scholarships,” said McMillian. “It can open the door for high school seniors to help them reach their goals.”