RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – The Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS) Scholarship website, www.automotivescholarships.com, has received nearly 400 completed applications in 2010 for students planning automotive aftermarket careers – and these applications are now available for aftermarket companies with corporate scholarship foundations and funds.

“We’re pleased to offer the industry access to these outstanding candidates through the GAAS Scholarship site as another means of continuing to attract talented qualified aftermarket employees for the future of our industry,” noted Pete Kornafel, GAAS scholarship chairman.

Aftermarket companies interested in presenting an existing corporate scholarship or developing a new scholarship will have a pre-qualified pool of candidates available for review. “We can create a specific database of applicants based on the company’s scholarship specifications, whether based on financial need, state of residence, proposed field of study, academic achievement, secondary school of choice … any combination of these factors and more,” Kornafel said. “The desired database can be ready for review online almost immediately. The selection can be made from the pool of qualified applicants by either a committee from the aftermarket scholarship sponsor or by the GAAS Scholarship Selection Committee, according to the sponsor’s wishes. If the sponsor chooses to select its own candidate, its judges will receive log-in information for the secure website,” he added.

In 2009, a total of 75 students – 68 in the United States and seven in Canada – were awarded scholarships by the GAAS scholarship fund and its contributors. Another 41 awards were made by other groups collaborating with GAAS. 10 students received multiple awards. Individual scholarships ranged from $250 to $2,000. A second round of scholarships in July was made possible by donations of more than $10,000 at GAAS 2009. In its 14-year history, the fund has presented more than $1.4 million in awards to approximately 1,400 students.

Representatives of aftermarket scholarship foundations should contact Pete Kornafel, pete@carquest.com, for more information by Monday, May 17 – prior to the beginning of the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS), slated for Tuesday and Wednesday, May 18-19, in Chicago. Click here for more information.