Posted on May 12, 2014 | By Staff CT POST BLOG

Alec Bergemann of Branford, left, and Santiago Serna of West Haven, right, led by Platt instructor Michael DiCandia, center, won the Connecticut competition recently to earn a spot in the National Finals at Ford Motor Company World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan June 8–10. There, the duo will compete for millions in scholarship dollars, the opportunity to earn a job shadow experience with Wood Brothers Racing and the possibility of being crowned “America’s Best Student Auto Technicians.” At right, is Larry Eiden, AAA’s CT Technical Coordinator of the statewide contest that attracted 10 competing high school technical students.

From a press release:

MILFORD — For the second consecutive year, two students from Platt Technical High School in Milford will head to the Motor City next month to represent Connecticut against students from the 49 other states in the prestigious 2014 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Finals.

Alec Bergemann of Branford and Santiago Serna of West Haven, led by Platt instructor Michael DiCandia, won the Connecticut competition Friday in South Windsor to earn a spot in the National Finals at Ford Motor Company World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan June 8–10. There, the duo will compete for millions in scholarship dollars, the opportunity to earn a job shadow experience with Wood Brothers Racing and the possibility of being crowned “America’s Best Student Auto Technicians.”

At the National Finals, Bergemann and Serna will have their automotive skills tested with a written exam and timed event. During the competition, they will be required to diagnose and repair intentionally installed “bugs” on a Ford vehicle.

The road to the National Finals requires much preparation. To earn their spots, Bergemann and Serna needed to successfully complete an online test of their automotive knowledge in January. They then advanced to the Connecticut State Finals, where they competed against other pairs of high school students in a hands-on competition similar to the national finals.

Ford and AAA annually co-sponsor its Student Auto Skills competition to encourage young people to pursue careers in the auto repair industry where sophisticated technology on new cars and the increasing average age of vehicles has created a high demand for properly trained technicians. The contest also illustrates the need for more students to enter the automotive technology field but is especially relevant now when the need for skilled technicians is due to more motorists fixing their older vehicles instead of buying new ones with the hope used cars will survive the recession.