Parsippany, NJ, April 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ: LINC), a national leader in specialized technical training for more than 75 years, has awarded a pair of scholarships to Automotive Service & Technology students training at the campus in Melrose Park, IL, a suburb of Chicago. The campus has been one of Lincoln Tech’s longest-running schools, with a history of strong placement rates for graduates and close partnerships with area employers.

Martiez Caffey and Dalia Alvarez will receive the Lawrence Arthur Pritchett Memorial Scholarship Award, which is funded through the Lincoln Foundation for Education, Inc. (LiFE). Pritchett was a long-time resident of Chicago and the surrounding area and was known as a highly skilled mechanic who enjoyed a long career doing what he loved. For more than 30 years he worked for the Amoco Oil Company (now BP), starting as a truck mechanic and working his way up to Senior Manager of Fleet Operation and Repairs. His family created the scholarship in his honor so that other students could pursue career training for the industry he was so passionate about.

“As a kid, I loved cars and trucks and always wondered how they worked,” says Caffey. “Being the youngest of eight children, I didn’t want to be a financial burden to my mother; she works hard to afford to send me to school. This scholarship will help me achieve my childhood goal and is also a huge burden lifted from my mother. After I graduate, I can work on trucks and pursue my CDL license, thanks to Lincoln Tech and this incredible scholarship opportunity!”

Alvarez says that as a little girl, she dreamed about working on cars, and about the racing world. Training at Lincoln Tech, she says, “gives me the chance to chase my dream, and I’m ready to overcome any challenge that is thrown at me.”

“It’s an honor for us to be able to help commemorate Mr. Pritchett’s legacy through these awards,” says Karen Clark, President of Lincoln Tech’s Melrose Park campus. “More than ever it’s imperative to help students realize their dream of advancing their education and getting ahead in fields like Automotive Service. And we couldn’t think of two more deserving students than Martiez Caffey and Dalia Alvarez.”

To qualify for the award, students needed to demonstrate both an exceptional GPA and consistent attendance record. Commitment to their future career paths is what solidified the choice of these two particular students for the scholarship.

“Automobiles and automobile technology were our father’s passion and career,” says Lawrence’s son Michael Pritchett. “Throughout his life, he raced, studied, and built motorized vehicles. He would have wanted to invest in students that share his passion, and my siblings and I know he’d be proud of the Lincoln Tech students receiving this award.”

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics projects more than 2,900 positions are available each year in Illinois for skilled, trained Automotive Service Technicians*. Lincoln Tech’s Melrose Park campus graduates technicians year-round to help meet that need.

* Career growth projections can be found at onetonline.org for the years 2020-2030 and are current as of April 4, 2024.

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About Lincoln Educational Services Corporation

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation is a leading provider of diversified career-oriented post-secondary education. Lincoln offers recent high school graduates and working adults career-oriented programs in five principal areas of study: automotive technology, health sciences, skilled trades, and information technology, and hospitality services. Lincoln has provided the workforce with skilled technicians since its inception in 1946. 

Lincoln currently operates 22 campuses in 13 states under four brands: Lincoln Technical Institute, Lincoln College of Technology and Euphoria Institute of Beauty Arts and Sciences.  Lincoln also operates Lincoln Culinary Institutes in both Maryland and Connecticut.

For more information, go to lincolntech.edu.