Federal-Mogul announces 12 future 'Top Technician' scholarship winners

Federal-Mogul Motorparts is helping 12 students enrolled in automotive technology programs achieve their goal of becoming a "top technician" through a total of $30,000 in scholarships awarded in conjunction with the launch of the company's Garage Gurus technical education network.

A division of Federal-Mogul Holdings Corporation, Motorparts announced the winners of $2,500 scholarships for the 2015-2016 academic year:

• Austin Cadman, Colorado Springs, Colo., New Mexico Junior College
• Scott Cleaver, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Iowa Western Community College
• Bridget Clifford, California, Mo., University of Northwestern Ohio
• Jessica Fluhr, East Bardstown, Ky., Elizabethtown Comm. and Tech. College
• Aidan Hicks, Eden Prairie, Minn., Dunwoody College of Technology
• Summer Miller, Decatur, Texas, Brookhaven College
• Daniel Mojica, Kissimmee, Fla., Universal Technical Institute
• Alexander Morais, Danbury, Conn., Universal Technical Institute
• Robert Morantes, South Lyon, Mich., Henry Ford College
• Christopher Polcar, Olmsted Falls, Ohio, University of Northwestern Ohio
• Billy Tipton, Green Mountain, N.C., Asheville-Buncombe Tech. Comm. College
• Thomas Wee, Pittsburgh, Pa., Rosedale Technical College

"As one of the auto care industry's leading suppliers of premium branded parts, we embrace the responsibility to help attract and support each new generation of talented automotive service professionals," said Brent Berman, director, training and consumer experience, Federal-Mogul Motorparts. "We look forward to the day when each of these students begins their career in the service bay, and hope they will take advantage of the ongoing technical education we provide to working professionals through the Garage Gurus network."

Garage Gurus is a first-of-its-kind technical education network established to help professional technicians keep pace with the latest vehicle technologies. State-of-the-art Garage Gurus training centers have opened in seven major U.S. markets offering combined reach of more than 67,000 vehicle repair businesses. The network provides onsite, online and on-demand training developed and led by ASE-certified gurus, and operates a fleet of "Gurus-On-The-Go" product technology vans that visit thousands of automotive service locations.

"Winning the scholarship means everything to me because I have to work so much to afford school," said Jessica Fluhr, 25, who is studying diesel technology. "I've been working 50 hours a week this summer even while taking classes."

Scholarship winner Robert Morantes, 28, hopes the scholarship will be a springboard to a successful career in automotive service - a hope shared by his instructors and employer. "The letters of recommendation that my professor and my boss wrote for me, when I read them I didn't know they saw all that potential in me," he said. "The success of completing something is an awesome feeling. It's something I want my kids to look up to."

Daniel O'Halloran Mojica, 27, hopes to follow in his family's footsteps in the automotive service industry. He developed a passion for working on European vehicles while employed at an independent shop. "Money has been really hard for me," he said. "I have two student loans; this scholarship is helping me out a lot."

Bridget Clifford, 25, hopes to eventually take her skills to the IndyCar racing circuit. She learned about the automotive program at the University of Northwestern Ohio when the school's dirt track racing team attended a local event. "Everything I've learned so far, like setting up a car, sheet metal work and how to work on the motors - all of that I can apply to my own car, a friend's car or at future jobs."

To learn more about the Federal-Mogul Motorparts scholarship program and Garage Gurus technical education network, visit www.FMgaragegurus.com. To speak with the Federal-Mogul team about any upcoming training course, call 888-771-6005.