You Auto Know! Edison Won Again

McCoon and Suriel staying after school to prepare for their next competition

For two and a half years, automotive students have tirelessly studied and dedicated hours of their time to perfecting their skills so that they’d be prepared to compete; so far, it has definitely been paying off.

 On January 11th, Lincoln Tech’s Toyota Training Center hosted its annual GNYADA (Greater New York Dealer Automotive Dealership Association) competition for five high schools all across New York City. Edison has had a continuous winning streak, taking first place for the past two years. Students Sudesh McCoon and Robinson Suriel continued Edison’s victories as they too took first place.

McCoon and Suriel not only get to move on to state competitions, they also received $20,000 in scholarships toward several trade schools that are centered around the automotive industry. Some of these schools include Universal Technical Institute in Exton, Pennsylvania, Ohio Technical College in Cleveland, Lincoln Tech in Whitestone, and New England Institute of Technology in Warwick, Rhode Island.

With scholarship money secured, that is one less thing for our champs to plan for in the future.“You see, it feels so good. Now that I have less to worry about for my future, it motivates me even more and I’m confident that we can take first place in our next set of competitions,” McCoon said.

The training for these competitions is more rigorous than most students would think. When asked to describe their preparation, Robinson Suriel stated, “The hardest part of it all was staying back in school until 7 or 8 and then having to come in for school the next day with teachers expecting you to do all your assignments. It got even harder when we had to train after school for about three hours every day the week before competitions.”

It’s clear how dedicated these students really are, even putting their social lives on hold to get serious about what they needed to do.

The students’ State competitions will be held on February 14th and they’re back in the habit of training during and after school. With their determination and dedication to their trade, it’s expected that they’ll take first place again.  

 

 

Krista Alleyne

Hi, my name’s Krista and I enjoy writing for the General News section because I understand how important it is to keep people informed on things that aren’t necessarily in the spotlight. Even when I’m on Instagram or Snapchat, I find myself exploring the news pages because it’s crazy to see how much goes on without anybody knowing. As strange as it may sound, I really enjoy not being home. Think about it, the more you’re not home all cooped up in your room, you’re being exposed to the diversity that is all around us and that’s something that I find really intriguing.