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GM Goodwrench scholarships help Pasadena ISD students tune up for the future

For Pasadena Memorial High School senior Bryan Day and Pasadena High School senior Daniel Garcia, working on cars has always been a favorite hobby. But now they are both using their passion of cars to rev up for their future as they are both recipients of the 2008 General Motors Goodwrench Educational Scholarship.

Day and Garcia are two of 15 AYES (Automotive Youth Educational Systems) students nationwide to receive the scholarships. AYES is a two-year program designed to prepare high school students for careers in retail automotive repair service. The GM Goodwrench Educational Scholarship Program was developed by the GM Service and Parts Operations division to provide scholarship opportunities to AYES graduates allowing them to continue their education in automotive technology through the GM Automotive Service Educational Program (GM ASEP). The scholarships are for $7,000 each and will be awarded in two payments of $3,500.

Day and Garcia are enrolled in Pasadena ISD’s AYES program, and Garcia’s automotive technology instructor James Jackson said he is glad to see a deserving student such as Garcia receive this scholarship.

“Daniel has the intellect to do anything he wants to do,” he said. “He is an overachiever. His documentation for his daily activity is the best I’ve ever seen. If you ask him to meet a standard, he will exceed it. I’m glad he has chosen to enter the auto service industry, and I’m very proud of him.”

Day’s instructor and the district’s AYES coordinator Chris Wasson said Day is an exceptional student and he is glad he has the opportunity to further his education in this field because he knows he will do great things in the automotive industry.

“Bryan went on his own to secure employment this school year,” Wasson said. “If anything, he is an example of dedication and self-motivation.”

Pasadena ISD’s director of career and technology Sarah Wrobleski said Day and Garcia serve as role models as students in the AYES program and that she is honored to have two Pasadena ISD students be scholarship recipients.

“We are honored to have an opportunity to work with great students like Daniel and Bryan,” she said. “They both work very hard to reach and exceed their goals. When looking at the odds of having two of the 15 recipients in Pasadena, we are very pleased with the success of the teachers and students.”

To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be graduates of the AYES program, possess a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or higher on a 4.0 scale, demonstrate both academic excellence and outstanding community service, be employed at a GM dealership and must intend to complete the degree in a two-year timeframe. This year, 420 interns were eligible to receive the scholarship.

Garcia said he feels honored to have received this scholarship.

“This is an accomplishment that makes me feel proud of myself and very grateful to the people who made this possible,” he said.

The GM ASEP process streamlines the path to becoming a certified service technician to only two years, and students alternate between formal classroom training and hands-on work experience at GM dealerships. Scholarship recipients can choose which GM ASEP college from anywhere in the nation they want to attend. Both Day and Garcia will be attending San Jacinto College in Pasadena.

“This scholarship will help me out in a big way,” said Day. “It will get me into the GM ASEP program at San Jacinto, and when I finish with the program, I will be a step closer to being a technician at Monument Chevrolet.”

As part of the AYES program, students intern at local dealerships such as Monument Chevrolet to receive hands-on training. They work on a full-time basis during the summer at the end of their junior year and continue to work part-time during their senior year. Day and Garcia both work at Monument Chevrolet, which has been a part of the district’s AYES program since 2000.

“The goal of AYES is to provide career entry through internship opportunities,” Wasson said. “It gives students the chance to test drive their career while they still have time to change their minds. I think it’s important for students to have these opportunities to help them decide what direction they want to take their career.”

Day said he has received a great deal of valuable experience from the AYES program with the help of his auto technology instructors and his mentors at Monument Chevrolet.

“I have learned more than I ever imagined I could about cars,” he said. “I started off working on big medium duty trucks, moved to drive train, and now I’m learning the interior electrical section of a car, which I really enjoy. My mentors have taught me a lot, and I’m still learning. I appreciate this opportunity and everyone supporting me in furthering my automotive career.”

Garcia said he has benefited from AYES and his internship because it has allowed him to develop valuable skills.

“This program has provided me with skills that will be of great importance to my future,” he said. “Through my internship, I’ve learned what the automotive field is all about. When I finish school, I hope to be one of the top graduates of the GM ASEP program and receive a full-time job at Monument Chevrolet.”

Pasadena ISD was the first district in Texas to offer AYES to its students, and the program is NATEF (National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation) certified. The L.P. Card Skill Center became certified in January 2000, and Dobie and Pasadena high schools became certified in September 2003. After completing the required number of classroom and work experience requirements, AYES students are eligible to test to become ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) certified, which will allow them to obtain jobs as professional automotive service technicians.

This year, 135 students were enrolled in the district’s Auto and Collision courses districtwide and 20 of those students have been placed as interns for next school year. Seven interns will graduate from the program this week and several of them will pursue their studies at San Jacinto College, University Technical Institute in Arizona and WyoTech after graduation.

“Pasadena ISD is committed to helping our students become productive members of the community,” Wrobleski said. “The district and community are very supportive of the AYES program in our schools. This program stresses the importance of our students being both career and college ready.”