TROY, Mich. — After working with a team of judges to review more than 400 entries for its second annual “The Passion That Drives You” scholarship contest, Honeywell’s Friction Materials team has announced the final eight winners, all of whom will receive a $2,500 scholarship paid directly to their school of choice. 

This year’s scholarship winners are:
      
• Dan Wycklendt, Naperville, Ill., College of DuPage
• Nathan Maas, Houston, Texas, School of Automotive Machinists
• Robert McGhee, Merced, Calif., Merced College
• Helena Edison, Columbus, Ohio, Columbus State Community College
• Stetson Castillo, Houston, Texas, Universal Technical Institute
• Dana Kaplan, San Francisco, Calif., Skyline College
• Adrian Purnell, Lima, Ohio, University of Northwestern Ohio
• Andrew Watkins-Blackshear, San Diego, Calif., Miramar Community College

In addition, Wycklendt was named the Grand Prize Winner for securing the most online votes and achieving the highest essay score. He will be receiving an all-expenses-paid trip for two to the O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals in July.
      
“We are incredibly pleased by the response this program has garnered in its second year,” said Jim Kelley, director of sales, North America for Friction Materials LLC. “Nearly 400 young men and women took the time to write an essay about their life-long passion for cars and why they want to turn that passion into a career.”
      
The scholarship promotion – which ran from Oct. 4, 2010 to Nov. 30, 2010 – asked participants to complete an online form, respond to an essay question and upload a photo that showcased their passion for the automotive industry. This year’s contest also featured an online voting component – and more than 4,000 total votes were secured for participants.
      
The essays were judged by a panel of industry peers, including editors from leading automotive publications, as well as a specially selected national career tech school teacher. All bias content was removed prior to judging, the company notes.
      
“Our judges said it was very difficult to rank the winners – there were so many personal, heartfelt stories about why people are pursuing this as a career,” added Kelley. “We would like to thank all of the contest entrants and judges for their time, and we look forward to another successful program in 2011.”