Over the past few months, I’ve taken part in the process of giving away nearly $40,000 in scholarships as part of one of several University of the Aftermarket Foundation scholarship committees. Giving away money sounds pretty easy, right?
The answer is… far from it! In fact, I wanted to give money to everyone. But it’s not because I’m a pushover. It’s because so many candidates were so deserving of awards!
For my part, I was tasked with reviewing nearly 130 candidates, their transcripts, recommendations, grades, essay questions and other information to review their eligibility for automotive-related scholarships. Another set of candidates, whose family members work at stores and warehouses of a program group, plan to go into the automotive aftermarket, while a few are seeking an education in other fields.
Some are traditional students, while others are married, currently working, are veterans and generally, come from all walks of life.
Taking part in this process has truly been a humbling experience. Some candidates have struggled mightily to get where they are. And some candidates make me wonder if I need to step up my own game!
After weeks of deliberation and consideration, I recently took part in a conference call with my team to finalize and choose the award recipients. It felt amazing.
I want to thank Pete Kornafel, Chuck Udell and my team members for their insight throughout this process. And a very special thank you to Jennifer Tio of Maximum Marketing Services for suggesting that I take part in this process! I got so much more out of it than I ever expected.
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