General News

May 25, 2009

NCADA Team Finishes Third in National Auto Tech Competition

On April 15 Watauga High School students Jessica Lawrence and Daniel Miller placed third place in the National Automotive Technology Competition. This is the highest ranking a North Carolina team has ever had in the national competition.

The North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association sponsored Lawrence and Miller’s trip to New York City to compete in nationals, after the team won NCADA’s statewide competition held earlier in the year. The students have won a number of scholarships, tools and prizes, valued at over $60,000.

During the national competition, 30 teams of high school seniors from across the United States earned points for their work on cars and at workstations designed to test specific skills. “We felt really good about how we did on the car,” explained Lawrence. “But several of the work stations were really difficult. We were hoping for a top ten finish, but weren’t sure we were going to make the cut.”

“When it was announced that we had won third place, it took me a minute to get up,” shared Daniel. “I just couldn’t believe it.”

Both Lawrence and Daniel will graduate on June 6 from Watauga High School. The students are interested in attending the Toyota Technical School at Central Piedmont Community College in the Fall. They each won a $1000 renewable scholarship to the program as NCADA’s state finalists.