The Jim Moss Memorial Scholarship has been awarded to Jacqueline Hower, a senior working towards her Bachelor of the Arts in the automotive aftermarket management program at Northwood University.
The scholarship was established to honor Moss’s dedication and long-standing commitment to the heavy-duty industry. It is awarded to a deserving college student whose studies focus in the aftermarket and/or heavy-duty industry.
Hower began her college education in 2005 at Penn State University, but left before graduation in order to work in her family business, Zimmerman’s Automotive. She has since worked her way up to director of operations. In 2016, she enrolled in Northwood University’s aftermarket management program and plans to complete her degree in May 2018.
“The automotive aftermarket has been in my blood since the day I was born,” said Hower. Her family’s automotive business will be celebrating its 60th year in business in 2018. She explained that, growing up, her family didn’t push her into the family business, and she felt free to pursue whatever career she wanted. “After high school, I studied business for two years, but decided my family’s business was my calling. I left college to pursue management within the company. In 2016, I found out about the aftermarket management program at Northwood. So far, I have very much enjoyed my classes.”
Hower’s career goals include gaining ownership of Zimmerman’s Automotive and leading it into new ventures.
“Our world is ever-changing and if we do not change with it, we will fall behind. Some ventures will work and others will not, but we cannot succeed without failure. This scholarship will help me afford the education that will not only help me with my career, but also help me further our company,” Hower stated. “I love my job! There is no other way to say it. I have such an incredible passion for this industry, and I love meeting others with that same passion. While my career path won’t change with this degree, my knowledge and love for the industry will.”
The Jim Moss Scholarship is one of many that were awarded through the University of the Aftermarket Foundation – in total $188,000 in scholarships were awarded to students attending a two-year vocational/technical college or a four-year college or university. These students are working towards becoming a mechanical, collision or heavy duty repair professional or are pursuing a business or engineering degree that will lead to a career in the automotive aftermarket.
