Chrysler Presents 16 Scholarships to Local Students for Telling Their Story of Metro Detroit

AUBURN HILLS, MI - August 6, 2008: Sixteen students from 10 schools were selected as winners; total awards equal $29,000

- First-place high school winner is from Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills; undergraduate school winner is from Marygrove College in Detroit and graduate school winner is from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor

- Finalist students chosen from more than 400 essay contest submissions from 63 schools

- All winning essays are posted at www.myjourneythroughtheD.com and readers are invited to comment on each winning essay's content

Today Chrysler LLC presented high school, undergraduate and graduate student recipients of the "My Journey Through the D" essay contest with scholarships awards. Winning students shared a personal account or defining moment that underscores Detroit's impact on their life. Of the nearly 400 applications submitted, 16 winning students were selected in the high school, undergraduate and graduate student categories and the sum of all scholarship awards total $29,000.

"The purpose of this essay contest is to reflect the unique characteristics and pride of our region, allowing our young people to share their experience of living in metro Detroit," said Frank Fountain, Senior Vice President - External Affairs and Public Policy (Auburn Hills), Chrysler LLC. "These scholarships awarded by Chrysler will provide lasting benefits and encourage these talented young people, who are at varying stages of their careers, to use their abilities to become leaders in the community and the hope for its future."

Chrysler has a long history of commitment to southeast Michigan; the Company wanted to take a look at the city's future by obtaining feedback from the youth of today. Students had the opportunity to put their creativity, objectivity and originality to use by providing a first-hand account of their experience living in metro Detroit. As an added incentive, essays were judged by select academic and community group leaders, as well as print and broadcast partners, with the chance for students to get their work in front of potential employers.

Students created their own headline and presented reasons to support what and how they feel about Detroit and the surrounding southeast Michigan area. Essays were between 500 and 750 words and written from the author's personal point of view. The contest started April 1, 2008, and ended May 1, 2008.

All winning essays are posted on Chrysler's "My Journey Through the D" Web site -- www.myjourneythroughtheD.com and readers are invited to comment on each winning essay's content. More than 400 essays from 63 schools were submitted through the Web site and there were more than 5,000 individual hits made to the site.

First, second and third-prize winners will receive scholarship awards in the amount of $5,000, $2,500 and $1,000, respectively, and honorable mention winners will receive $500 scholarship awards.

The first place high school category winner is Theodore Dasher who attended preschool through middle school in Detroit, before receiving a scholarship to attend boarding school at Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Growing up in Detroit allowed Dasher to form relationships with unique individuals that showed him the meaning of humanity through their life lessons and stories. Dasher wrote, "my experience of city living can be characterized, in broad strokes, by driven individuals with shared values, who often worked in union towards common goals. Humility, community and perseverance: these were Detroit's gifts to me. They are invaluable and not to be idly left behind."

Briana Williams of Marygrove College in Detroit placed first in the undergraduate student category. Williams, a native of Nashville, Tenn., moved to Detroit and touched on the charms of the city including Greektown gyros, Sanders Hot Fudge and Vernors ginger ale. Over time, Williams learned that, "just as the Ambassador Bridge connects the United States to Canada, Detroit has provided me with my first connections to other cultures and ways of life." When it came time to select a college after high school, Williams chose to stay in Detroit because, "Detroit is where I belong. My roots may be from Tennessee, but Detroit and its environs are where I have grown and blossomed into the young woman that I am today."

The graduate student winner, Sayan Bhattacharyya at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor wrote about how on his travels from Bengal, India to Michigan to attend graduate school, he discovered the gem that is Detroit. Bhattacharyya attended the Detroit International Jazz Festival, the Concert of Colors at Chene Park and also discovered techno music in the city. He sums up the city as the following, "Detroit had been home both to the machine and to the spiritual. It was in Detroit that the fire-belching machines of the great industrial plants like River Rouge existed together with the equally fiery passions of Rhythm and Blues. Here, visions of automobile bodies of steel in the clanging workshops of auto factories by day used to give way to soundscapes of soul music by night. Body and soul, machine and spirit: Detroit was the place where opposites clashed and were transcended."

Scholarship recipients were honored at a reception at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum on Aug. 5.

"This educational initiative showcases the talent and unique perspective of students in this region; the future of our state and industry is in great hands," said Leven Weiss, Senior Manager - Civic & Community Relations, Chrysler LLC. "These scholarships provided by Chrysler allow everyone to experience first hand through these student testimonials, the impact this region has had on our youth."

The following students from their respective schools have been presented with their scholarship awards:

High School Student Recipients
First place: Theodore Dasher, Cranbrook Schools, Bloomfield Hills
Second place: Ashley Thornton, Renaissance High School, Detroit
Third place: Matthew Gallick, Andover High School, Bloomfield Hills
Honorable Mention: Bianca Wasson, Mercy High School, Farmington Hills
Honorable Mention: Julia Sosin, Berkley High School, Berkley

Undergraduate Student Recipients
First place: Briana Williams, Marygrove College, Detroit
Second place: Lauren Sackey, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit
Third place: Anita Miko, Wayne State University, Detroit
Honorable Mention: Stephanie Spencer Smith, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Honorable Mention: Chibuzor N. Isiogu, Michigan State, Lansing

Graduate Student Recipients
First place: Sayan Bhattacharyya, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Second place: Chris Gerben, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Third place: Stephanie Pilat, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Honorable Mention: Amanda Kuechle, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit
Honorable Mention: Stephanie Hitztaler, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Honorable Mention: Jennifer Epley, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor