Sept. 28, 2022—A high school senior in Tennessee has been recognized for her work in her collision repair automotive class.
According to News 5 WCYB, Gracie Sims is a student at Unaka High School. She was recently awarded first place and given $100 from the Appalachian Fair in the custom painting category for collision repair.
For the project, Sims restored a pedal car from the 1960s. She did a custom paint job for the project, complete with metal flake and candy translucent paints. Sims told News 5 WCYB that she dedicated about 90 hours to the paint job.
Sims said that she enjoys navigating the challenges that work like this can present, especially being a female in a male-dominated industry. Sims has also been awarded a $7,500 scholarship to Lincoln Technical College in Nashville that she can use if she would like to attend the school.