The SunPower Solar Science Academy offered a program to students in the Oxnard Union High School District as a way to spread the word about solar energy. It also provided the 19 students who participated with career options, according to Bobby Ram, managing director of SunPower Corp., a solar technology company with headquarters in San Jose.

“I like the idea of people living on the Earth for a long time rather than what’s estimated now,” said Gilbert Martinez, 17. “I’ve thought of being an environmental lawyer, and there are always engineering jobs that pop up. There’s so much.”

Most of the solar academy students belong to the Oxnard High School Green Technologies Academy, a program that emphasizes science, math and other skills that can be used in a career in environmental sciences. The students went through a weeklong program based at the Ventura County Electrical Apprenticeship offices in Oxnard.