The competition, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company and the Automobile Club of Southern California, is designed to find the most talented young auto technicians in the U.S.Ingram, one of only two girls in the competition, and Hayward were joined by their instructor, Omar Sevilla, at the competition, which was held May 3 at the Wally Parks NHRA Museum at the Fairplex in Pomona.
The competition winners were determined by scores on an online qualifying exam and the team's performance in the statewide hands-on, under-the-hood competition to repair quickly and accurately a deliberately disabled Ford Focus SE.
As statewide champion, the Ramona High team advances to the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Finals in Dearborn, MI in June, where $11 million in scholarships and prizes will be distributed.
Madison High School is in its second year of using a state-of-the-art automotive technology facility, which was built using voter-approved funds from Prop. S and statewide Prop. 1D. The Auto Club co-sponsors the annual competition to draw attention to the need to attract qualified students to high-paying automotive professions. Trained automotive technicians are among the most sought-after and highly paid professionals in today’s job market, but many high schools, unlike those in San Diego Unified, are reducing or eliminating automotive programs due to lack of funds and/or trained teachers. At the same time, there are almost 250 million cars and trucks in operation in the U.S., according to R.L. Polk and Co.'s 2009 data.
For more information on the program, contact Sevilla at osevillajr@sandi.net.
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