Date:  May 27, 2003
Contact:  Greg Sullivan or Irene Cromer
(903) 721-4484                  (703) 791-8720

The Automotive Technology Program at Osbourn Park High School in Manassas, Virginia, has been recognized as one of this area’s best by the nation’s largest providers of post-secondary automotive education.

Doug Burgess, automotive program instructor at Osbourn Park, as well as Principal Timothy Healey will accept an Automotive Program Excellence Award on May 29, 2003, at 9 a.m. in the high school’s automotive classroom, 8909 Euclid Avenue in Manassas.

Universal Technical Institute (UTI) recognizes select high school automotive programs around the country with the award to signify outstanding support by local school administrators for vocational education.

“This recognition shows that everyone from the high school on up is serious about providing the best education for our students,” said Burgess.  “We have worked hard to provide opportunities in the automotive field for our students when they graduate.”

Osbourn Park High School educates more than 2400 students each year.  Nearly 2.5 percent of those students are involved in the Automotive Technology Program, which has been in existence since 1976.  The program, certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), is designed to provide students with entry-level occupational skills in automotive mechanics.  In a laboratory environment, the students are taught to perform specific tasks in automotive servicing, engine analysis, brakes, steering mechanisms, alignment procedures, and transmission operation.

UTI is one of the top providers of post-secondary technical education training.  Since its first campus opened in 1965, UTI has graduated more than 70,000 professional technicians across the nation.  UTI’s automotive industry customers include Audi of America, BMW of North America, Ford Motor Company, Jaguar Cars of North America, Mercedes-Benz USA LLC, Porsche Cars of North America, Toyota Motor Sales USA, Volkswagen of American, and Volvo Cars of America.  UTI is also the exclusive educational partner of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR).