RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC — Applications are now being accepted online for the 2008 Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS) scholarship, awarded to students planning automotive aftermarket careers. The application process is now entirely electronic through the GAAS scholarship website, www.automotivescholarships.com. The deadline to apply is March 31, 2008.
The scholarships are available to students in two-year technical college programs, vocational schools and four-year college programs. To receive a GAAS scholarship, applicants must be enrolled full-time in a college-level program or a National Automotive Technician Education Foundation (NATEF) accredited automotive technical program. Graduate programs and part-time undergraduate programs do not qualify.
The GAAS scholarship is unique in that technician recipients can receive two financial grants: one while in school to assist with tuition and an equivalent grant awarded to scholarship recipients who graduate from their program and show proof of post-graduation employment as a technician in the automotive aftermarket for at least six months.
In 2007 the GAAS scholarship fund awarded a total of 154 students with scholarships, bringing the total number of recipients to more than 1,300 students. The scholarship has presented more than $1.3 million in awards in its 13-year history.
The annual investment to develop future automotive aftermarket industry leaders is funded through proceeds from the annual Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium. Additional funding comes from R.L. Polk Co., the Udell Family Charitable Foundation and the University of the Aftermarket Foundation.
The GAAS scholarship website and online application also supports other automotive scholarships. By completing a single online application at the GAAS website, students will be considered for GAAS scholarships, plus scholarships from the following organizations:
- AAACT — Automotive Aftermarket Association of the Carolinas and Tennessee (regional association for residents of North and South Carolina and Tennessee);
- AAAS — Automotive Aftermarket Association Southeast (regional association for residents of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi);
- APSA — Automotive Parts & Services Association (regional association for residents of Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming);
- APSA of IL — Automotive Parts and Service Association of Illinois (regional association for residents of Illinois);
- Breslow Foundation; and
- Zurich High Octane Scholarships — funded by a grant from Zurich.
