BOWIE, Md. — The Tire Industry Association (TIA) and Michelin North America Inc. have selected three recent high school graduates whose fathers work at TIA-affiliated companies to receive college scholarships for the 2020-21 school year, funded by Michelin.
The three students — Kate Burnett of Granger, Ind., Brendan McLernan of Philadelphia, and Charles Weltens of Bryan, Texas — will share $6,250 in scholarship funding, Michelin and TIA announced during the TIA Awards Ceremony held virtually Nov. 2.
The three were selected based on their academic and extracurricular achievements, according to Cara Cornelius, director of wholesale and car dealer business for Michelin North America.
The scholarship money can be used to support the costs of college tuition, books, fees and room and board.
Ms. Burnett, whose father Bruce Burnett is employed by Tire Rack Inc. in South Bend, Ind., plans to study environmental sustainability at Indiana University.
Mr. McLernan, whose father Matthew McLernan works for McCarthy Tire Service in Philadelphia, plans to study engineering at Penn State University.
Mr. Weltens, whose father Charles Weltens is employed by Pilger's Tire & Auto Center in College Station, Texas, plans to study mechanical engineering at Rice University.
The Michelin/TIA Scholarship has been awarded every year since 2000 to either part-time employees or dependent children of full-time employees of TIA member tire dealers.
Since its inception, the program has awarded over $500,000 to 69 recipients who have gone on to attend accredited two-year, four-year, technical or vocational schools; $12,500 have also been applied to scholarship renewals.
Once awarded, the recipients may renew the scholarship for up to three more years.