Jan. 27, 2016—AkzoNobel has announced the names of six outstanding students in its 2015 Sustainability Challenge Grant program. In the program’s second year, $50,000 has been awarded in grant funding to selected high schools and colleges with collision repair programs to advance continuous improvement and sustainable business principles.
The students were nominated by their instructors for exemplifying exceptional leadership, initiative and commitment.
The outstanding students that were honored for their innovation, leadership and teamwork are:
- Hunter Brakefield, Applied Technology Center, Rock Hill, South Carolina
- Cesar Mercado, WallaWalla Community College, Walla Walla, Washington
- Angel Myers, Norwalk High School, Norwalk, California
- Cole Woods, Freedom High School, Freedom, Wisconsin
- Nicholas Shah, Thomas A. Edison High School, Jamaica, New York
- Evan Vail, Applied Technology Center, Rock Hill, South Carolina
“The goal of the Sustainability Challenge Grant is to inspire and challenge those who are preparing for a career in collision repair to seek out ways to improve the way our industry interacts with its community and environment.”, said Doug Holmberg, business director for AkzoNobel’s Vehicle Refinishes business in North America. “These outstanding students represent the future of our industry and we are proud of their initiative to help find ways to improve processes, increase social capital and advance environmentally-friendly practices. We are pleased to recognize their achievement and leadership.”
“As an educator, the Sustainability Challenge Grant has provided me with an opportunity to talk with my students about how to improve practices in our collision repair shop and how that knowledge can be applied in the real world.” He continues, “by creating teams to develop an idea for a grant proposal and implement that idea, the students have had an opportunity to hone their leadership, planning, and presentation skills,” said Mark Dellinger, instructor at Applied Technology Center.
