April 7, 2022—John Merkel, who loved cars since he was a kid, beginning with Hot Wheels, is one of several students from an Indiana high school who won scholarships in a Universal Technical Institute Top Tech Challenge. Students are invited to demonstrate their automotive tech skills in hands-on and written challenges.

Participating students also toured the UTI campus, and demoed UTI’s virtual reality simulator and new automotive diagnosing software, reported NWI Times. 

Oh, and Merkel’s scholarship? $3000.