BOWIE, Md. – The Michelin North America, Inc. and Tire Industry Association (TIA) scholarship program, now in its 21st year, has selected three students of employees of TIA-member companies as 2021 award recipients. The high school students were selected based on their exceptional academic and extracurricular achievements.
Sebastian Pires of Tulare, Calif.; Jackson Hoover of Edwardsburg, Mich., and Hailey Ramsey of Vinton, Va., will share $6,250 in scholarships for the 2021-2022 academic year. The scholarship money can be used to support the costs of college tuition, fees and books.
The scholarship recipients were announced at TIA’s Tire Industry Honors Luncheon in Las Vegas on Monday, Nov. 1.
Pires, who received a $3,000 scholarship, is a graduate of Tulare High School in Tulare, Calif. He plans to study finance at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., and go on to a career in Major League Baseball operations. His father, Kevin Pires, is employed by TF Tire and Service in Tulare.
Hoover, who received a $1,625 scholarship, is a graduate of Edwardsburg High School in Edwardsburg. He plans to study biology at the University of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Ind., and go on to medical school. His parents, Mike and Sally Hoover, are employed at The Tire Rack, Inc. in South Bend.
Ramsey, who received a $1,625 scholarship, is a graduate of William Byrd High School in Vinton. She plans to study kinesiology on a pre-med track at the University of Virginia and go on to become an OBGYN. Her father, Jeff Ramsey, is employed by McCarthy Tire in Roanoke, Va.
“Each year TIA has partnered with Michelin to recognize diligent high school students who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in both the academic and extracurricular realms,” TIA CEO Roy Littlefield said. “It is an honor to provide this scholarship assistance to the children of parents working in the tire industry at TIA-member companies.”
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 more than $500,000 in scholarships to a total of 72 recipients who have gone on to attend accredited two-year, four-year, technical or vocational schools. Once awarded, the recipients may renew the scholarship for up to three more years.