Autel Awarding Excellence Scholarship

​Igniting the Spark My fascination with the automotive world started before I could even fully speak. Photos and home videos from my toddler years show me wearing a tiny toy tool belt, flipping my plastic Lightning McQueen car upside down, unscrewing the bottom panel, and "servicing" the brakes and tires. What started as simple childhood play quickly evolved into a real, hands-on passion. As I grew older, my playground became my dad’s garage. Whenever he worked on the family vehicles, I would come running out with my little toolbox to help. Sensing my genuine enthusiasm, he would hand me the tire pressure gauge to check each tire. That simple responsibility kept me focused, taught me precision, and instilled in me a deep respect for mechanical care and preventive maintenance. ​Building a Technical Foundation That initial curiosity solidified into a clear career vision during my high school years when I enrolled in an after-school automotive technology class. Stepping into a real shop environment was a turning point for me. I loved diving into the mechanical systems, learning how every individual component functioned within a complex machine, and mastering the diagnostic process. Nothing matches the profound sense of personal accomplishment that comes from taking something apart, identifying the precise fault, fixing it with your own hands, and turning the key to hear a smoothly running engine. Beyond the practical experience, cars encompass my everyday life. I am constantly expanding my automotive knowledge by watching diagnostic repair tutorials online, tracking modern racing engineering in Formula 1, and following local drag racing events. ​ My immediate goal is to attend the Universal Technical Institute in Rancho Cucamonga, California, where I can immerse myself in advanced technical and diagnostic training. Long-term, I am determined to turn this lifelong passion into an elite career as a Master Technician for a major vehicle manufacturer or as a technician on a professional Formula 1 team. ​ Lifting the Financial Weight Receiving the Autel Awarding Excellence Scholarship would completely transform my educational journey by lifting a significant financial weight from my family. My parents are incredibly hardworking, but both of their careers are subject to seasonal unpredictability. My father is a local truck driver delivering materials to active construction sites, meaning his work hours drop sharply during the wet winter months when projects slow down. My mother serves as a per-diem home health aide in hospice care, working for multiple agencies just to secure enough home visits. Because her workload relies entirely on fluctuating patient populations, our family's monthly household income is constantly shifting up and down. Despite these financial hurdles, my parents insist on covering my trade school expenses so that I can focus 100% on my education without the added stress of a full-time job. While I manage anxiety surrounding long-term financial security, their incredible selflessness drives me to work even harder to succeed. Winning this scholarship would allow me to honor their sacrifices, ease our household financial stress, and enter my program at UTI fully focused on becoming a top-tier automotive technician.

I was never interested in cars growing up. I’m your girliest girl to the truest definition. I got my Cosmetology license extremely early at 16 and that's what I had my mind set on. I loved being a hairdresser but it became less challenging and I craved more. My fascination with collision repair started when I was 15. My dad owns a detailing company and when his health started affecting his work, I started helping him while working my salon job. He always had me moving, even on a slow day he would pull another car in for me to practice wet sanding and paint correction. I became interested in cars but I never thought it would turn into a career for me until my senior year. I fell in love with Miatas, I researched everything I could about them. The simplicity of this slow tiny sports car had me in a chokehold. My project car dream turned into finding an untouched bright red 1993 with only 11,000 original miles, 10 hours away from where I lived. On a Thursday evening my dad and I brought her home on a trailer. Ruby was one of a kind. My dad and I bonded over it, he taught me how to drive manual and we put time into fixing it up to show quality standard. The car became a symbol of our connection. Then a few days before my birthday, I was driving with my dad and we got rear ended by a Durango. Ruby was declared a total loss. If we fixed it it would turn the car into a rebuild title and it would lose financial and collector value, so we let it go. Then two months after the accident my sister borrowed my daily driver and totaled it. My dad showed up for me again and lent me his truck while I was saving for a car. During this process of uncertainty, I made the decision that I wanted to go to school for collision repair. I visited this school twice before I fully committed, I remember being so nervous mainly because of the financial responsibility and time away from work. One persistent thought was louder than all the anxiety and fear: I wasn’t given the opportunity to save my Miata, that's what really drove me into the art of collision repair. I would be lying if I said that it's been easy for me, every moment to get myself to this point I have fought hard for. I was working 3 jobs pulling 60 hours a week after high school, because of it I was able to buy myself a reliable car to get me to school. Collision repair is my passion and I share this story to show that I am hardworking and unyielding. Whether the goal is finding my dream car, or diving head first into a new career; I am incredibly persistent when I set my mind to something. My top priority right now is absorbing everything I can out of school so I can set myself up for success after graduation. I plan to gain a few years experience in a production shop but my dream job would be in restoration work. I love being challenged and pushed into a new way of thinking. I love failing again and again until I can succeed. I love the rollercoaster of life and I can't wait to see what’s next. Thank you for considering me for this scholarship, the help would mean more to me than I can express.

At 50 years old, after raising five daughters, building businesses, and undergoing two surgeries caused by years of physical labor, I am walking into a college classroom to finally build a career around something I have always loved—turning wrenches. My path to automotive school has been anything but traditional. I grew up in Ohio (Go Bucks!) and left high school when I had a child on the way. At the time, providing for my family was more important than sitting in a classroom. I worked warehouse jobs before discovering construction, where hard work could provide a good living. Eventually, I started my own successful general contracting business. Education, however, was unfinished business. In 2008, after being out of school for 13 years, I was given the opportunity to earn my GED. I jumped at it and scored in the top 75th percentile in Ohio. That experience taught me something I still believe today: being older does not mean you are finished learning. After 20 years of marriage, five daughters, and a move to Montana, I continued working in construction. Eventually, the years of physical labor caught up with me. I tore tendons in my arm that required reattachment surgery. I hung up my ladder and went to work in the lumber industry, only to later tear tendons in my foot and require another surgery. While recovering, I had time to seriously consider what I wanted the next chapter of my life to look like. I didn't want another job just to collect a paycheck. I wanted a career I enjoyed, could physically sustain, and could eventually turn into a business of my own. I have always enjoyed working on motorcycles and vehicles and am comfortable turning wrenches. What I lack is the formal education and certifications necessary to take those skills to a professional level. That realization led me to the A.A.S. Automotive Technology program at Montana Tech–Highlands College. Returning to school at 50 presents some unique obstacles. I commute approximately 80 miles round trip from Deer Lodge to Butte, attend school full-time, and can work only two days each week. I am also relearning how to be a student alongside classmates who may be 30 years younger than me—and I will admit that returning to math class after all these years is intimidating. Receiving the Autel Awarding Excellence Scholarship would help reduce the financial burden of fuel, tools, and other educational expenses. More importantly, it would give me additional time to focus on learning instead of worrying about how many hours I need to work to cover those costs. My goal is not simply to graduate. I intend to excel in the program, earn my A.A.S. in Automotive Technology, obtain my first ASE certifications by graduation, and continue until I achieve all levels available to me. Ultimately, I want to use my education, hands-on experience, and certifications to build a business of my own. At 50, I am not starting over. I am taking everything I have learned from decades of hard work and using it to build the career I should have pursued years ago.

For as long as I can remember, automotive repair has been a part of my life. My father was a diesel bus mechanic, and I grew up watching him diagnose problems, work through challenges, and take pride in fixing vehicles the right way. Some of my earliest memories are of spending time with him in the garage, learning that being a mechanic is about more than turning wrenches—it's about solving problems, helping people, and taking pride in honest work. Those experiences inspired me to follow the same path. For the past three years, I have worked as a mechanic, gaining valuable hands-on experience every day. I've learned how to perform repairs, diagnose common issues, and work efficiently in a professional shop environment. That experience has given me a solid foundation, but it has also shown me the limits of learning through experience alone. As today's vehicles become increasingly complex with advanced electronics, computer-controlled systems, hybrids, and electric vehicles, I have reached a point where I know formal education is essential if I want to continue growing in this career. One of the biggest challenges I have faced has been financial. My family had planned to use a college fund to help pay for my education, but our priorities changed when my father recently lost his leg and required surgery. Without hesitation, that money went toward his medical expenses and recovery. It was the right decision because family comes first, but it also meant holding off on education. While I have continued working to support myself and gain experience, paying for school has become much more difficult. Receiving the Autel Awarding Excellence Scholarship would allow me to move forward with the education I need without placing an overwhelming financial burden on my family or myself. It would help cover the cost of tuition, tools, and other expenses that come with automotive training. More importantly, it would allow me to focus on becoming a better technician instead of constantly worrying about how I will afford the next step in my education. My goal is to become a highly skilled diagnostic technician who can confidently work on the latest automotive technology. I want to earn industry certifications, continue learning throughout my career, and become someone customers and employers can trust with even the most difficult repairs. Eventually, I hope to mentor younger technicians the same way my father mentored me, passing along not only technical knowledge but also the values of honesty, hard work, and professionalism that he taught me from an early age. Although my father's injury has changed many aspects of our lives, it has also strengthened my determination to succeed. Watching him overcome such a life-changing challenge has reminded me that perseverance is one of the most important qualities a person can have. I want to honor everything he has taught me by continuing the career that first inspired me as a child. The Autel Awarding Excellence Scholarship would be more than financial assistance—it would be an opportunity to continue the path that began in my father's garage and develop the education and skills needed to build a successful future in the automotive repair industry. I am committed to working hard, continuing to learn, and representing the profession with the same dedication and pride that first inspired me to become a mechanic.

I am interested in a career as an automotive repair technician because it is a job that I love. I have always struggled in traditional learning environments, ending up bored and uninterested in the topics, but the trades are something that have always captivated my attention. I have spent hundreds of hours on general topics like English and Mathematics, but I would rather spend eight hours struggling to replace a CV axle, getting scratched and dirty, over one hour of AP Calculus. My family has owned snowmobiles, ATVs, motorcycles, and they all break eventually. Whether it's just a simple line coming loose or being flooded from going into a lake, any motorized vehicle needs maintenance over its lifetime. Fortunately for me, mechanics is something that runs in my family. My great uncle has owned a shop for decades, my grandfather has built cars from the ground up for Back to the 50s, and my mother is a Mechanical Engineer. Needless to say, I have been exposed to mechanics my whole life, and that has led to me doing a lot of needed maintenance right at home. Being a repair technician is not an easy job by any means. I have done jobs that take twice the advised time just because a car has one bolt in an unusual place, or because I was working with someone who wasn't familiar with the work. But I know that the payoff and rewarding feeling of completing a project is worth it every time. That perseverance is incredibly important to a technician. Not every job is going to go by the book. I'd argue that, more often than not, things go wrong because of the nature of the work. So, when one bolt breaking causes an hour-long setback it's important to stay focused, stay calm, and to keep with it. Along with a need to persevere through the difficult, a technician needs to be incredibly detail oriented. There are no cutting corners when the cost could be someone's life. Many issues on a vehicle are harmless, but if a technician decides to cut corners when putting on a tire, and their client proceeds to lose a wheel going 70 mph down the freeway, then the cost could be a lot more than a new bolt. That is why I believe that a technician needs to present in every moment when repairing a vehicle. Finally, a technician needs to be prepared. When they receive a vehicle to work on, they need to have all the correct tools and parts so that they can perform their work to the best of their abilities. They also need to be prepared mentally. Not every day is going to be a good one, and not every job is going to be fun, but that doesn't mean they can choose to cut corners. A technician's job requires trust. The client needs to trust that even when the technician is having a bad day their work will not be compromised, and that every single job will be done the right way, with focus.

Ever since I was little, I have been around cars and hot rods. My grandpa lived close to where I grew up, so during the summer, my dad, grandpa, and I would often go to car shows just for something to do. Although I wasn't working on cars back then, it quickly became something that interested me. My dad and I also watched Gearz and Trucks! with Stacey David, which made me like cars even more. When I started high school, I was not sure what I wanted to do afterward. I discovered an after-school automotive club that met twice a week and decided to attend as often as possible. When I signed up for classes, I didn't realize there were actual automotive classes, so the club was the next best option. After the first day, I knew this was something I could do for the rest of my life. We were already working on smaller projects that first day, and that got me hooked right away. Being around cars when I was younger and joining the Auto Club got me started, but that is not the main reason I want a career in automotive repair. After learning as much as I could during my sophomore year, I decided to take on a project of my own during my junior year. I bought a truck with money I had saved from working and towed it home because it did not run. I replaced the fuel pump, got it running, and drove it to the school shop to continue the work. It ended up needing more repairs than I expected, but I am glad it did. I rebuilt most of the suspension, upgraded the rear axle with a locking differential, wired a custom stereo, and went through the rest of the truck to make sure everything was right. That project taught me patience, problem-solving, and how rewarding it feels to bring something back to life. Fixing cars is fun, but helping others with their cars is even more enjoyable. During my senior year, I took upper-level automotive classes where seniors could take on bigger projects. Some of those projects included manual swapping a 1998 Pontiac Firebird, getting a 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix running again after sitting for years, V6 swapping a 1991 Toyota MR2 with a custom wiring harness, and swapping multiple engines and transmissions in a 1968 Buick Special. Working with my classmates on these projects showed me how much I enjoy both the technical side of the job and the teamwork that comes with it. I believe a good automotive repair technician needs three main qualities: attention to detail, problem-solving skills, and a strong work ethic. Attention to detail is crucial because modern vehicles are complex, and even a small mistake can cause big problems. Problem-solving skills matter because things rarely go as planned when working on cars. Being able to think through issues and adapt is what makes a good technician. Finally, work ethic ties it all together. The automotive field is demanding and competitive, and if a technician does not show up ready to work hard and stay consistent, they will not last long. Automotive repair combines everything I enjoy: working with my hands, solving problems, and helping others. It is not just about fixing cars; it is about doing something that matters and taking pride in doing it right. I am excited to keep learning, improving, and building a career doing something I truly care about.

Ever since I was first introduced to collision repair in high school, I thought it was just an elective that wasn't important to me. It was something I didn’t think I wanted to build my future around. At the time, I simply enjoyed working with my hands and seeing the results of my work. I liked the pride of taking something damaged and slowly bringing it back to life. But as I kept learning, taking on more challenging projects, and gaining experience, I realized that this is more than a hobby. It became obvious that collision repair is a career where I can grow, push myself, and create something significant every day. The classroom gave me a foundation, but the shop is where I really discovered what this career meant to me. I wasn’t just learning from books; I was sanding panels, spraying paint, and figuring out how to repair a panel. Every repair taught me that every step matters. My mentor had a huge influence on determining the way I see this career. He didn’t just show me the steps; he guided me on how to think like a skilled technician. He showed me different approaches to the same repair, explained why quality mattered more than speed, and reminded me that no matter what, the car that leaves the shop carries my name with it. Those lessons gave me more than skills; they gave me confidence and pride in the kind of technician I want to become. From my experience, I believe that a successful collision repair technician should be patient, detail-oriented, adaptable, and willing to learn from mistakes. Patience is necessary because repairs can require hours of preparation to make sure everything fits and finishes correctly. Attention to detail ensures that panels are aligned, and the paint matches perfectly. Adaptability is important because no two repairs are ever the same, and technology in the automotive industry is always changing. Just as important is the ability to take criticism and learn from it. Mistakes will happen, but what defines a good technician is how they respond to accepting feedback, correcting errors, and using those lessons to improve on the next project. I’ve learned that criticism isn’t about failure, it’s about growth, and that lesson has shaped me both as a technician and as a person. Thinking about the future, I am excited to continue my education at Collin College, where I will work toward an Associate of Applied Science in Collision Repair Technology. My goal is to build on the foundation I’ve created, gain more experience, and establish myself as a skilled and reliable technician. I want to carry the lessons I’ve learned into every repair, proving to myself and others. Automotive collision repair may have started as a hobby, but it has grown into a career that challenges me, motivates me, and gives me a sense of purpose. I take pride in knowing that my work has meaning, that every custom project is a reflection of my patience, effort, and dedication. With the qualities I’ve developed and the drive I bring to every project, I am confident that I can succeed and make a name for myself in the automotive collision repair industry.