SOUTHFIELD, MI – For the 4th consecutive year, Manheim has provided two matching scholarship awards to the General Motors Minority Dealers Association (GMMDA) Scholarship Program.

Manheim’s long-time partnership with the GMMDA includes the selection of two ethnic minority students each year to receive a matching scholarship in the amount of $2,500.

Manheim officially announced this year’s matching scholarship recipients at the 19th Annual GMMDA Scholarship and Awards Banquet held on Feb. 8 in San Francisco, Calif. The two students selected this year by Manheim executives were Shaun Fernandes and Shayla James.

Shaun Fernandes is a senior at Thomas Jefferson Senior High School in Bloomington, Minn. He will begin his freshman year this fall at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he will major in automotive project engineering. Shayla James is a junior at Oklahoma City University in Oklahoma City, Okla. She is majoring in business administration and also studying Chinese.

The GMMDA Scholarship Program is sponsored by participating GM minority dealers and the GMMDA to recognize outstanding ethnic minority college students. Over the past 19 years, the GMMDA has given more than 1 million dollars in scholarships to support more than 500 students. The scholarship program has grown to include an internship component that provides an opportunity for students to gain work experience within different facets of the GMMDA dealer network and automotive industry overall. This year, 4,205 scholarship applications were received from students representing 49 states plus the District of Columbia.