Thanks to a donation by Shoreline Community College’s General Motors Automotive Service Educational Program (GM ASEP) in conjunction with General Motors, Cadillac of Bellevue, and Chevrolet of Bellevue, the Automotive Technology Program at Bellevue High School is now home to a 2013 Chevrolet Corvette and 2013 Cadillac ATS.
The high-performance vehicles were donated to Bellevue’s Automotive Technology Program thanks to two of its students winning this year’s North Region SkillsUSA competition. The competition, which was held in the college’s Automotive Training Center on Jan. 29, 2016, consisted of a series of written and practical hands-on tests in the categories of service and maintenance.
Bellevue High School sophomore Luke Walker took first place in the service category, with Newport High School sophomore Ian Douglas placing first in maintenance. The wins earned the Bellevue Program, which is open to students of Bellevue High School as well as the greater Eastside through the WANIC CTE consortium, access to the Corvette and Cadillac for training and promotion. About 40 students from area high schools competed.
“This donation showcases the strong and essential partnership between K-12 and post-secondary education and the automotive industry,” said Michael Boehm, Director of Dealer Services & Manufacturer Relations for Shoreline’s Professional Automotive Training Center – Dealer Training Academy.
“It’s through the continued and generous support of our industry partners and the commitment of our K-12 peers to support students interested in professional/technical careers that we’re able to so effectively train the next generation of world-class automotive professionals,” said Boehm.
SkillsUSA is a nationwide program that aims to help students explore career opportunities and learn how core subjects like science, math, reading, and writing are used in the workforce. As part of a variety of contests, students compete at area institutions in subjects ranging from 3-D visualization and animation to cabinetmaking.