Rockland County Auto Tech Students Win State Finals, Will Represent New York at National Championships in April

Student Team from

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Rockland BOCES wins state title, chance to compete for $3 million in scholarships and prizes at the New York International Auto Show

Two Rockland County students won the New York State Automotive Technology Competition, taking home thousands of dollars in scholarships and winning a chance to compete for some $3 million in scholarships and prizes at the 2020 New York International Auto Show national championship in April.

Peter Moger and Luis Pinto-Samayoa, seniors at Rockland BOCES, coached by Frank Pipolo, took home the gold against 11 other teams from throughout the state, diagnosing and fixing pre-programmed bugs in a Lexus operating system and engine in the shortest time. The competition was held Feb. 11 at the Center for Automotive Education and Training in Whitestone, N.Y.

The student team advanced to the state finals by placing first in their division in the regional round in January. In April, they will represent New York State against some 29 other teams from throughout North America.

Each student was awarded $2,000 in scholarships by the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association (GNYADA), which sponsored the competition, and scholarship offers from technical training schools ranging from $7,000 to $10,000. They were also awarded a set of tools.

Nick Camarata and Adam McAllister, from H.B. Ward Technical Center in Suffolk County, Long Island, came in second place, receiving $1,000 scholarship from GNYADA and scholarships from technical schools ranging from $5,000-$7,500. Another team from H.B. Ward, Harvey Edwards and Shane Hampson, came in third, earning $500 from GNYADA and scholarships of $2,500-$5,000 from technical schools.

All 12 teams qualified for the state finals by their finishes in the regionals in January. Students worked on a variety of car makes and models after years of training in school and at local regional franchise new car dealerships following the January

  New York International Auto Show, rockland boces