Chip Miller Memorial Scholarship

Vroom! My mom swears that is the first word I spoke as a child. My name is Cristian Martins, and I go by my middle name, Brady. For as long as I can remember, I have always had an obsessive interest in cars. From the cartoons I watched as an infant to the toys I played with, everything in my young world had to revolve around cars. One of the greatest stories my mom tells stems from when I was in preschool. I was just four years old and the teachers had concerns that I wasn’t engaged with most activities. They apologized to my mom for never having any finger paintings or macaroni art to send home to hang on the fridge because they simply couldn't pull me away from playing with cars. There was a young student teacher in the class, and she came up with the brilliant idea to let me use the cars as a means to make art. She squirted some paint on a paper plate and then allowed me to drag the wheels from the toy cars through the paints, making the coolest refrigerator art made of tire treads. My mom loved this teacher's kindness and innovation so much, that the art not only made it to our fridge but became framed artwork in our house. This just goes to show how much cars have meant to me and how supportive my family has been with my love of cars and my decision to seek this career path. As the years have ticked away, my love, passion, and thirst for automotive knowledge has grown exponentially, coming to a head at the end of my sophomore year when my mom and I bought a 1965 Wide Body Convertible Ford Mustang (that was originally being sold for parts) and I began the restoration process. Every night after football and wrestling practice, I found myself in our garage working on bringing the Mustang back to life. From rebuilding the engine and transmission to electrical, and everything in between, my goal was to have it up and running by my senior prom, a goal I can proudly say I met. It was through the restoration process of the Mustang, which I affectionately call "Mamala" in honor of my mustang-loving great-grandmother, that I was able to put together a portfolio of the transformation of the car. That portfolio, helped me be one of only 40 students accepted into the automotive restoration program at McPherson College, the country's only college to offer a 4-year bachelor of science degree in that field. I am so excited to have found my passion at such an early age and have already started my next project, a 1980 Ford F150 Stepside, in honor of my grandfather who drove one. As I venture into this next chapter of my life, I am so blessed to have my family's support with my career path, and can't wait to hit the ground running in the fall.

“Follow your dreams and never give up,” is something my parents have always said to me. As I grew up I watched my dad work his butt off so that we could get by and have food on our table. Every day after work he would come home and spend the rest of his day away from us taking on extra work, working on cars till the sun went down. He inspired me to chase my dreams and hopefully open up an auto shop of my own in the future. I come from a middle class family in the small town of Diboll, Texas. I grew up with my two brothers, one being the oldest and the other the youngest making me the middle child. Both my parents work for Diboll Independent School District, my mother as the child nutrition supervisor and my dad as the transportation supervisor. I am a graduate of Diboll High School. During my high school attendance, I took several CTE (Career & Technical Education) classes. I enjoyed this learning experience in Welding, Automotive Basics and Paint & Refinishing. I participated in Ag Mechanic Shows across the state of Texas. One of my projects earned me a blue ribbon for a shop table that I built for my dad. I also participated in trailer build-offs. Doing these types of hands-on projects were a fun and exciting way to learn. Also, I think it is important to have a job as a teen. It builds character and is a great way to gain valuable work experience and discover new skills and interests. It also teaches you the value of hard earned money. My current work experience includes working for Diboll ISD. During the summer, I work in the maintenance department. Some of the job tasks include general repairs, moving furniture and floor care. I have learned how to strip and wax floors. During the school year, I also worked as a custodian. It has become increasingly harder for schools to find employees in these fields. I think it is important to help out wherever needed. Custodians are an important part of the school community. As a custodian, your responsibilities include ensuring the common areas, offices and classrooms are clean. I am currently enrolled at the School of Automotive Machinists and Technology (SAM Tech) and pursuing an associates degree in applied science so that I can further bring along my skills to help people. I hope that after college I can gain enough money to open my own shop to work on cars and continue doing what I love. I have completed the Engine Block Program at SAM Tech and am currently taking the Cylinder Head Program. I will soon be starting the general education program that will earn me an Associate of Applied Science Degree. I look forward to furthering my education by completing the CNC Machining Program as well as the EFI Calibration Program. With the wealth of knowledge I can gain from SAM Tech, I feel confident that I will be able to achieve my goals and succeed in a successful career. In conclusion, I hope you consider me for this scholarship as it would benefit me greatly. I would love to be able to further my education and fulfill my dream of owning my own auto shop. I am following in my dad’s footsteps and want to show him how much this means to me. I think furthering my education is one way I can do this.

I am applying for this scholarship because I love being an auto mechanic; it will put me in a well-founded and fulfilling career where I will be able to get my hands on something. Growing up as a little boy, I was highly fascinated with vehicles—naming makes and models, collecting Hot Wheels, and spending hours on YouTube watching the building of cars. For instance, I would go with my dad to do some repairs in the house or the car, and while working, he would tell me how such and such in a car works or how this or that would work; all of these, over time, crystallized an obvious career ambition to be an auto mechanic. I am interested in transforming my passion for vehicles into a professional life that may also enable me to help people keep their cars running safely while also educating them about how different things function in their daily rides. Working with my hands, problem-solving, and being part of the safety and reliability of vehicles are some things that excite me. This would be too much to handle since the cost to study and train for such a profession is overwhelming, and this scholarship would go a long way in ensuring I receive the much-needed skills and knowledge associated with being an auto-certified mechanic. Later in life, I want to be an influence within the field of automotive by not just properly fixing automobiles but also being a source that others within my community can count on. A majority of people worldwide do not have basic knowledge of how to service their cars or how their vehicles work, leading mainly to costly repairs and unsafe driving conditions. It would be my aspiration to become the kind of mechanic who establishes long-term relationships with his customers by educating them about their cars while at the same time providing quality and reliable service. I want to be in a position to assist people with their decision-making capabilities when it comes to car care, saving money and preventing repairs. This is important because through this, I will be able to give back to my community by being a mentor to interested young people in auto mechanics who need a good role model and a means of support. I think that sharing skills and experiences among the many developing talents is very necessary within the industry. A right scholarship would translate to an opportunity to take a starting point toward these goals in making a difference not only in the automotive industry but overall.

I have always had a passion for cars and racing, inspired by my grandfather, who was a car enthusiast and once owned Ferraris and Alfa Romeos. He often shared stories about those cars and spoke excitedly about the old days of Michael Schumacher racing against Ayrton Senna. While I wasn’t always sure what I wanted to do, I knew it had to involve racing in some way. By the time I was finishing high school, I decided I wanted to work with cars, though I didn’t yet know in what capacity. I took a gap year, and during that time, I watched more Formula 1 than ever. One day, I started paying closer attention to the engineers behind the cars. While they are not as prominent as the drivers, they are just as important to the success of a team. I began looking into the career path of a race engineer and realized it was more possible than I had expected. That is when I decided to pursue mechanical engineering. I know I will likely need to earn a master’s degree, but this path feels like the perfect fit. It allows me to combine my passion for cars with my love for racing. The idea of going from being a Red Bull Racing fan to actually working for the team is incredibly motivating. While race engineers may not earn the highest salaries, they gain unique and exciting experiences that are far more meaningful to me. I also have a strong passion for the German language. In high school, I participated in an exchange program in Germany, where I met people who became like a second family. I have been studying German for five years and plan to either minor or double major in it. I have considered living abroad in the future, and a career in Formula 1 would support that goal very well. Since this is a dream job, I do not expect to reach it right away. That is why I plan to start by working with auto manufacturers, especially German companies like BMW. Being able to work for my favorite car manufacturer would be just as much of a dream as working in F1. My main interests lie in the aerodynamics of the car, as well as the engine and drivetrain designs. That is why I am currently participating in my university's Formula SAE team. Since I am only a freshman, I do not have that much knowledge of my major yet. Being a part of this team gives me gives me the experience I need in order to learn more about my interests for my career Ultimately, I hope to contribute to the future of the automotive industry, whether through manufacturing street cars or designing race cars.

Automotive engineering design has always interested me since before I could even identify it myself. My Dad can recall many instances of how fascinated I was around cars and trucks as a little kid. I had always loved running around new car lots, jumping from one driver's seat to the next, choosing the vehicle I liked most, and not wanting to leave without purchasing it. I would also get attached to my Dad's trucks, becoming a distraught little child whenever he received a new one. Car shows and auctions have also caught my eye, as I am just in awe of the variety of body designs and have observed the many trends throughout the decades. CAD software was also a platform I enjoyed throughout middle and high school, and I now get to apply those skills in my professional career. Throughout my undergraduate journey, I spent 21 months as a professional engineering co-op at a tier-1 supplier in the automotive industry. Growing up, I always had a passion for cars and knew my purpose was to impact vehicle design somehow. While my mechanical engineering courses taught me extensive knowledge regarding the functionality of various systems, a significant concept was often brushed over: sustainability. I remember the moment I realized how prominent this issue was throughout the engineering process. It was mid-morning in the spring of my first year when I was told to throw out 100 plastic parts, which were completely fine in my eyes at the time. They showed some imperfections from the molding process but, in my opinion, would sell at a discounted rate. When I reached the dumpster, I was appalled at how much product was dumped daily. This was only the beginning. Having started my full-time career, I have seen plenty of scrap plastics across many offices, plants, and shops. I developed a great concern regarding the responsibility of humans impacting the planet. For my undergraduate thesis, I spent two years researching how to minimize carbon footprints through processing and recycling scrap from compression molding. Many engineering practices utilize materials throughout molding trials without regard to what happens to their parts once they’ve performed accordingly. The amount of money organizations spend to truck garbage out to landfills is disgusting. None of this is talked about enough. We are running out of time to be able to reverse the effects of the decisions that have already been made. I picked up a minor in sustainability to further my knowledge of what technologies are out there and how they may be implemented in the automotive sector. I also started to train on a platform called Mobius to create a database to show how much carbon is produced throughout every step in processing. Very few people consider how a product is sourced, sterilized, prepped, and shipped. Instead, the majority care more about how much it costs and how timely their deliveries may be. My purpose for furthering my education is to close the experience gap with older coworkers by learning the most cutting-edge technology regarding a more circular engineering life cycle. This new information will give me data to back up my claims, and the degree will put more respect for my name as a woman in engineering. I aim to reconfigure automotive design processes and inspire other companies to follow for a better world.