Kimberly Cabic Pursues Aftermarket Career With GAAS Scholarship Assistance

Research Triangle Park, N.C. - Valuable experience from a summer employer set Kimberly Cabic on the path to realizing her dream of an automotive career - and a Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS) scholarship helped make her dream a reality.

During high school, Cabic held a part-time job maintaining store inventories and deliveries for an automotive parts store. "The automotive industry has always been of interest to me, and this position provided me with valuable hands-on experience in preparation for my college career," she said.

Cabic started at Northwood University in Midland, Mich., in the fall of 1995. In her junior year, she was encouraged to apply for the GAAS scholarship, which is funded from the proceeds of the annual GAAS program. The two-day conference - set this year for Thursday and Friday, May 17-18, in Chicago, Ill. - features the automotive aftermarket industry’s top experts as speakers and attracts industry leaders as participants.

The GAAS scholarship fund has awarded 248 scholarships to students in two-year technical college programs or in four-year college programs since 1996. Cabic is among the first four-year college program GAASS graduates to enter the work force.

After graduating in 1999 with a bachelors degree in automotive aftermarket management, Cabic’s first job was as a sales representative for Martin Senour Automotive Finishes in Michigan. After six months on the job, Cabic received a promotion into the Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes marketing department as a marketing specialist in the company’s Warrensville Heights, Ohio, headquarters. At the same time of her relocation to the Cleveland area, Cabic was granted the second portion of her GAAS scholarship award.

The GAAS scholarship program is unusual in that its recipients receive two financial grants - one while still in school to assist with tuition and an equivalent, second award presented after graduation and six months employment in the field. Cabic’s second $1,000 GAASS award came as she moved to her new job.

"What a wonderful way to offer support during the college years and after with the encouragement that the GAAS scholarship provides. I am very honored to have received this prestigious award from all of the contributing associations," Cabic said.

The GAAS program is a joint professional education effort of the Alliance of State Automotive Aftermarket Associations (ASAAA), Automotive Industries Association (AIA) of Canada, Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), Automotive Parts Rebuilders Association (APRA), Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association (AWDA), Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), Tire Association of North America (TANA) and University of the Aftermarket.

Proceeds from the GAAS program are used to fund scholarships for undergraduate and vocational technical students preparing for careers in the automotive aftermarket. The GAAS scholarships provide grants ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 to undergraduate students in college preparing for automotive aftermarket careers. Scholarship program details are online at www.automotivescholarships.org.

Registration fees for GAAS 2001 are $895 for sponsoring associations members’ first registrant and $795 for each additional representative. Registration for individuals whose firms or organizations are not members of any of the sponsoring associations is $1,095 for the company’s first registrant and $995 for each additional representative.

Complete conference details and registration information are available at www.globalsymposium.org.

For more information, contact: Neal Zipser, MEMA, 919-549-4800, ext. 811, media@mema.org