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ARIZONA COLLISION CENTER CONGRATULATES 2015 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

Arizona Collision Center would like to wish a warm congratulations to the 2015 classes that have graduated across our state and the nation over the past month. Whether they are earning a high school diploma, a PhD, a training certification, or simply being promoted from kindergarten to the first grade, these students have shown the skills and dedication needed to achieve their goals and move on towards their next steps in life.

Additionally, Arizona Collision Center also sends congratulations to each of the 2015 scholarship recipients of the Collision Repair Education Foundation. In total, 17 students received upwards of $2,000 each from several different scholarships to fund their education as they prepare to enter the workforce as technicians licensed to work in the collision repair industry. What made this news even more exciting for us was that this included two students here in the Valley who also received scholarship funding that will be dedicated towards the tools and supplies they will need for their training classes.

The scholarships awarded? One scholarship given out by the Collision Repair Education Foundation was the Board of Trustees Scholarship, which typically awards two $2,000 scholarships each year. This year, however, it seems they exceeded their usual amount and awarded three $1,000 scholarships and a $1,500 toolkit scholarship to additional high school seniors preparing to start their post-secondary education in collision repair. The funds from this scholarship covers a wide range of college expenses, including tuition, lab fees, books, and tools.

Another scholarship Arizona Collision Center learned that awarded a total of $5,000 to graduating high school seniors preparing to enter college, or students already in college, was the Lon Baudoux Legacy scholarship. This particular scholarship was named for a former development manager of the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, or I-CAR for short. Something us here at Arizona Collision Center felt makes this scholarship a bit unique from many of the others listed on the Collision Education Foundation website is that it not only requires a goal to pursue collision repair as a career and excellent grades but also community involvement. This could include after-school activities, volunteering, or involvement in apprenticeships; other than the apprenticeship, these activities do not have to be limited to the collision repair industry. Including community involvement as a the requirement for scholarship eligibility is not unusual and actually helps the student to see how their actions can benefit their community and, eventually, may drive them to become more involved.

Once again, Arizona Collision Center would like to congratulate the scholarship recipients for receiving scholarships based on their hard work and dedication to their passion and community. Not only do we wish you the very best as you continue your education and career but we also look forward to seeing the advances you will help make in the collision repair industry here in Arizona and nationwide.