The Women’s Industry Network (WIN) has provided a record number of WIN College Student Tuition and Conference Scholarship Awards this year.

Thirty recipients received tool kits and/or scholarship funds, according to a news release from WIN. The scholarships are presented annually to students in post-secondary collision repair technology programs.

WIN received a record number of student applications this year due to the organization’s partnership with the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF). The goal of the partnership was to expand its reach to women looking for a career in collision repair, the release states.

Each WIN scholarship applicant received a complimentary WIN student membership. WIN also supports collision repair instructors with access to free WIN memberships through its “Pay It Forward” campaign, the release states. The campaign provides a limited number of 365-day memberships at no cost to the recipients through donations.

“The once-again-expanded program offers college student tuition and scholarship awards on two financial levels ranging from $500 up to $2,500 based on the selection team’s evaluation of their application and the review process,” said Laura Kottschade, WIN Student Relations Committee 2024 chair, in the release. “Recipients can also receive well-stocked new tool kits, which include four additional tools per set and are valued at more than $500.

“Scholarship recipients receiving tuition monies and tools were acknowledged in either the ‘Champions’ or ‘Stars’ levels. But, because we had so many applicants, two new scholarship categories, ‘Trailblazers’ and ‘Legends,’ were added this year where additional recipients were awarded either a financial stipend or a full tool kit.”

All award recipients and applicants will be eligible to participate in WIN’s monthly mentoring program. The program offers involvement in student engagement group calls and the opportunity to learn collision industry professional best practices.

“WIN student members will connect with other members who are in a similar stage in their careers,” Kottschade said. “The mentoring program also provides connections with women in the industry who can share relevant experiences from their success. These networking groups will support new female entrants to the collision repair field and hopefully create lifetime friendships that further WIN goals for longer-term career advancement and retention.”

Funds to support the scholarship program came from sponsors, WIN’s general fund, and the organization’s recent scholarship walk held at its Annual Conference.

This year, WIN separated its scholarship walk and scholarship fundraiser to simplify it for participant involvement, according to the release.

Fundraising is open through May 31 for the fundraiser under a partnership with RallyUp to gather donations.

This year’s WIN scholarship award winners are:

Champions category —

• • Teisha Chambers, of Miami Gardens, Florida (McFatter Technical College)
  • Alicia Davis, of Clarksville, Tennessee (Lincoln College of Technology, Nashville)
  • Tamara Fowlkes, of Chattanooga, Tennessee (Chattanooga State Community Technical College)
  • Autumn Havey, of Boise, Idaho (Dennis Technical Education Center)
  • Desirae Kane, of Lawton, Oklahoma (Great Plains Technology Center)
  • Izzy Povod, of Williamsport, Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania College of Technology)
  • Alexa Rogers, of Bruceton, Tennessee (Tcat Henry Carroll)
  • Lauren Schmidt, of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania (Automotive Training Center)
  • Mia Seacrist, of Norfolk, Nebraska (Northeast Community College)
  • Krystal Vazquez, of McKinney, Texas (Collin College Technical Campus)

Stars category —

• • Charlotte Lake, of Spring, Texas (Universal Technical Institute)
  • Claudia Mandujano, of Pelham, Alabama (Lincoln Tech)

Trailblazers —

• • Jamie Achenbaugh, of Council Bluffs, Iowa (Metropolitan Community College)
  • Victoria Alexander, of Rexburg, Idaho (Idaho State University)
  • Esperanza Calderon, of Marissa, Illinois (Career Center of Southern Illinois)
  • Mikayla Hoth, of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota (Dunwoody College of Technology)
  • Bobbi Lockett, of Chattanooga, Tennessee (Chattanooga State Community College)
  • Magaly Mora, of Chicago, Illinois (Kennedy Kin College)
  • Keyla Orellana of Houston, Texas (Universal Technical Institute)
  • Briana Onofre, of Minneapolis, Minnesota (Dunwoody College of Technology)
  • Cher Riopelle, of The Woodlands, Texas (Universal Technical Institute)
  • Samantha Rivera, of Highland Mills, New York (Hudson Valley Community College)

Legends —

• • Amanda Baker, of Wake Forest, North Carolina (Wake Tech Community College
  • Carolyn DesJardin, of Clarksville, Tennessee (Tennessee College of Applied Technology – Henry/Carroll)
  • Mattie Johnson, of Bagley, Wisconsin (Southwest Wisconsin Technical College)
  • Bailey Longstaff, of Ottawa, Kansas (Washburn Tech University)
  • Jazmyne Martinez, of Denver, Colorado (Warren Tech)
  • Diamond Molina, of San Antonio, Florida (Hillsborough Community College)
  • Kyla Sanders, of Borden, Indiana (Prosser Career and Education Center)
  • Madysen Smith, of Dauphin, Pennsylvania (Dauphin County Technical School)

“CREF is excited to be collaborating with WIN on their student scholarship program to help support female collision students,” CREF Executive Director Brandon Eckenrode told Repairer Driven News. “We look forward to continuing and growing our collaboration with WIN.”

Images

Featured image: Scholarship recipient Teisha Chambers is pictured with the tools she received from the WIN College Student Tuition and Conference Scholarship Awards. (Provided by WIN)