The Women’s Industry Network (WIN) has recently announced the list of recipients of its scholarships for 2019.

Every year, the organization presents the WIN College Student Tuition and Conference Scholarship Award to meritorious students who are enrolled in a post-secondary collision repair technology program. Each recipient is entitled to a $1,000 scholarship to help them continue with their post-secondary education in collision repair. Additionally, they get complimentary registration to attend the 2019 WIN Educational Conference. Recipients are also given the opportunity to be mentored by a member of the WIN Board of Directors or by one of the 2019 Most Influential Women (MIW) Honorees.

The recipients of the 2019 scholarships are:

• Jennifer Evon: Evon attends Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Crossville, Tenn. Having helped her grandfather repair cars in her childhood, she developed a passion for collision repair at an early age.
• Nicole Gutierrez: She currently attends Washburn Tech in Topeka, Kan. Gutierrez has grown up helping her father fix cars at home. Her goal is to continue learning about the collision repair industry.
• Heather Hawkins: A student of Lake Technical College in Eustis, Fla., she believes that knowledge of the auto collision repair industry can open a lot of career opportunities. Hawkins is excited to hit the ground running after graduating in mid-June this year. As a young girl, she helped her father do oil changes. She wishes to graduate and work in a body shop, focussing on hands-on body repair and/or paint work.
• Tamara Meyers: Currently studying in Lake Technical College in Eustis, Fla., Meyers started taking an interest in the industry when she needed auto body work on her personal car. She currently spends her days sanding cars, working to ensure that the customer is thrilled with her work. She is now a student ambassador who gives tours and speaks about the auto collision field.
• Savannah Moran: Moran currently attends the Walla Walla Community College in Walla Walla, Wash. Proud to be a woman autobody technician, she had not been involved in the collision repair industry until a few years ago. She wishes to own an auto body shop with her current boyfriend, who also belongs to the industry.
• Cheyenne Purchase: Purchase is working hard to earn her associate’s degree in Auto Collision and Estimating from the Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Neb. At the Nebraska State SkillsUSA championship for Collision Repair Technology in 2018, Purchase won the 1^st Being mechanically inclined and due to her keen interest in cars, she believes that this is the perfect career path for her.
• Hannah Quinteros: Quinteros currently attends Washburn Institute of Technology in Topeka, Kan. As a young girl, she was always working on her go-cart, sanding, painting, and pin-striping anything she could. She received an old work truck from her, which gave her the opportunity to turn her hobby into a prospective career path.
• Lilian Reed: Reed, a student of the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, Idaho, has been passionate about the auto collision industry for quite some time. During her junior and senior years in high school, she participated in SkillsUSA locally. In 2018, she won gold in the SkillsUSA Idaho State competition and went on to compete in Louisville, KY where she took 11^th She will compete at the post-secondary level this year. Reed hopes to become an instructor at a high school/tech school and teach body and paint. After graduation, she wants to work for Creative Auto in Idaho Falls.
• Jennifer Watson: Watson is a student of Texas State Technical College in Waco, Texas. Jennifer joined the Army in 1999 and served seven years as a helicopter mechanic. She later joined DynCorp, working on Apaches and Black Hawks where she was eventually promoted to Crew Chief. After serving the company for 11 years, she was diagnosed with MS. Unable to climb up into engines, Watson looked for an alternative career path that would allow her to use her talents. This led her to the auto collision industry. She now wants to become an auto collision instructor at Texas State Technical College.