Scholarships and Loan Forgiveness Bolster the Industry

SEMA Member News—September/October 2013

Scholarships and Loan Forgiveness Bolster the Industry

	Kenna Primm followed her passion. It began with watching races on television alongside her dad and progressed to becoming the director of marketing for Roush Yates Performance Products. The SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund and its associated Loan Forgiveness Program helped with her educational expenses.

The SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund is dedicated to fostering the next generation of automotive aftermarket industry leaders and innovators. Scholarship awards range from $2,000–$3,000, with $5,000 going to the top student. Assistance is available for career paths in the automotive industry in accounting, engineering, racecar driver/crew, administration, information technology, sales/marketing, advertising, manufacturing, technicians, design/graphics, photo/journalism and transportation. In addition, a full-tuition scholarship, valued at up to $29,400, is awarded to one student attending Ohio Technical College.

The SEMA Loan Forgiveness Program is dedicated to aiding recent graduates in getting off to a successful start in their automotive aftermarket careers. The fund offers $1,000 awards toward outstanding student loans for individuals who are employed by SEMA-member companies.

Kenna Primm is an excellent example of the type of student the scholarship fund and loan-forgiveness program can help. Automotive racing—and especially NASCAR—had been a passion of hers since she started watching races with her dad on the weekends. After high school, she attended the University of Arkansas, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing management. She then returned to that by attending the NASCAR Technical Institute (NTI), where she obtained a degree in automotive technology. Primm graduated from NTI in January 2010 and began working at Roush Yates Performance Products one month later. She is now director of marketing for the company.

Primm found out about the scholarship fund and loan-forgiveness award programs through her work at Roush Yates, which is a SEMA-member business.

“I am fortunate to work for a company that is heavily involved with SEMA, and I have had the opportunity to attend a few SEMA trade shows and join a few councils,” she said. “My SEMA award will go toward helping to pay off student loans, and my involvement with SEMA has opened doors for me to join the Young Executives Network and the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network.”

Primm followed her dream and was successful in joining an industry that she loves, and she said that others have the same opportunity.

“Be flexible and have realistic expectations,” she advised. “The journey to accomplishing your career goals is not always going to go as planned, but be open minded and take advantage of the right opportunities.”

	The automotive aftermarket is an important industry that represents close to 4 million jobs. It is an exciting and innovative industry that allows you to tap into your passion for cars and trucks. Explore some of the career paths at www.sema.org/student-program. If you have a passion for cars, this is the industry for you!

To be eligible for an award, an applicant must be a U.S. citizen enrolled in a full-time program of study at an accredited university, college or vocational/technical program in the United States and have a minimum of a 2.5 grade-point average. If currently attending a four-year university or college, the applicant must have completed a minimum of 50 college credits. If currently attending a two-year community college or vocational/technical program, the applicant must have completed a minimum of 25 college credits, or the equivalent in classroom hours.

The applicant must be pursuing studies leading to a career in the automotive aftermarket or related field and must remain enrolled as a fulltime student for the first full semester, quarter or term following receipt of the award. Students may reapply each year as long as they continue to meet the eligibility criteria. The scholarships are to be applied to tuition, fees, books, supplies and equipment required for course load. A student may transfer from one institution to another and retain the award.

The online application for next year’s awards will go live on November 4, 2013.Visit www.sema.org/scholarships for complete information. For questions, contact SEMA Education Administrator Juliet Marshall by at 909-978-6655 or julietm@sema.org.

To ensure complete impartiality in the selection of winners and to maintain a high level of professionalism, International Scholarship & Tuition Services Inc., a firm that specializes in managing sponsored scholarship programs, administers the program. For additional information regarding the scholarship program contact International Scholarship & Tuition Services Inc. by telephone at 855-670-ISTS or via e-mail at contact.us@applyists.com with SEMA in the subject line.