The auto mechanic students in Great Falls have scored big, winning a national contest and earning $10,000 scholarships for each of the team members. Click below to find out more.
The students are in the Automotive Service Excellence Program at Paris Gibson Education Center, and the car that they restored is a 1966 Ford Mustang, confiscated as a part of a drug seizure by Great Falls police.
The contest was the Dupli-Color Restoration Challenge. Each of the students on the winning team will receive a $10,000 scholarship package to Ohio Technical College.
The 30-member team is made up of students from all three Great Falls public high schools: Great Falls High School, C.M. Russell High School, and Paris Gibson Education Center.
We’ll have more on the team and their big win on this evening’s newscast.
(October 17, 2011) Last year, some auto mechanic students in Great Falls found out about a contest while watching TV; they entered the contest and are now one of the three finalists for the grand prize.
The students are in the Automotive Service Excellence Program at Paris Gibson Education Center, and the car that they’re restoring is a 1966 Ford Mustang, confiscated as a part of a drug seizure by Great Falls police.
Captain Bryan Lockerby of the GFPD explained, “Our officers on the street and the school district and narcotics get frustrated with the system sometimes and with the crime that occurs, and here we’ve got something negative being turned into something postive where a lot of people benefit all the way.”
Matthew Sheldon, one of the seniors working on the project, said, “We’re tearing the car down and then we’re going to rebuild it back up…we have a couple designs we’re debating with what we’re going to do right now.”
The project could pay big dividends – the class is now one of three finalists in the Dupli-Color Restoration Challenge.
Joe Wilkins, the course instructor, said, “We have 30 students signed up, it’s about a $300,000 scholarship package for us as well as a dance with Funkmaster Flex, who’s one of the more famous DJ’s out there.”
If the Great Falls team wins, each member of the team receives a $10,000 scholarship package.
The class is made up of students from all three Great Falls public high schools: Great Falls High School, C.M. Russell High School, and Paris Gibson Education Center.
The team plans to finish restoring the car by June; they still need to raise about $2,500 for tires and wheels, a sound system, headliner and seat coverings.
The other finalists are from Monterey, California, and Kansas City, Kansas.
