MEET OUR 2020-2021 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

MEET OUR CURRENT SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

We are proud to introduce the recipients of our Phil Hill Scholarships as well as our Jules “J.” & Sally Heumann Scholarship for the 2020–2021 academic year. Although many things are different this year, McPherson College has been in session and our scholarship students have been busy honing their automotive skills. JULES “J.” & SALLY HEUMANN SCHOLAR Wyatt Miceli of Northern California A JUNIOR AT MCPHERSON COLLEGE Wyatt Miceli considered only one option — a degree in automotive restoration from McPherson College — when he began to think about college.

“I didn’t believe an ‘ordinary’ degree was worth my time,” he said. “I wanted to create a unique path that would excite me, challenge me, and allow me to gain valuable, hands-on field experience in the automotive industry simultaneously.”

Wyatt says he doesn’t come from a “car family” — and he thinks that allows him to respect, enjoy, research, and scrutinize all marques more equally.

“My goal is to be a jack-of-all-trades and a master of many, focused on gaining new knowledge, experience, and insight within the automotive arena,” he said. “The automotive world is extremely diverse and dense in content. While I am passionate about vintage automobiles, in order to remain relevant in today’s world, I strive to develop knowledge on numerous eras and aspects of vehicles.”

Wyatt is part of the team of students working to restore the college’s 1953 Mercedes-Benz 300S Cabriolet with the goal of showing it at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. He committed nearly 1,500 hours this past year helping restore the car’s engine, transmission, front suspension, and similar drivetrain components, along with completing a significant amount of body and paint restoration.

In keeping with his varied interests in the automotive world, Wyatt has also participated in many other organizations across campus. He is a member of the C.A.R.S. Club, the automotive restoration student organization at McPherson College. He has served as head judge for the college’s annual car show and

currently serves as co-chair of the event. He is a writing tutor. And he is training to get a real estate license for California.

“I truly have many interests, passions, and desires — and I am developing, chasing, and managing them all,” he said. “In the end, my passion for the automobile has always and will remain a constant source of interest and excitement throughout my life.”

PHIL HILL SCHOLAR Jacqueline “Jackie” Gullion of Fremont, California A JUNIOR AT MCPHERSON COLLEGE It was obvious from an early age that Jackie was going to find a way to work on cars. When her mom bought her fingernail polish, Jackie used it to paint her Hot Wheels.

“I had a whole collection of Hot Wheels that I played with all the time,” she says. “Fast-forward to high school when my dad told me I had to figure out my future: I knew I really wanted to work on cars.”

As a child, Jackie had attended car shows with her dad, who often showed his 1971 Chevy C/10. In high school, Jackie enrolled in an auto body painting and refinishing class, then convinced her dad to let her repaint that beloved car. When she started looking for post-graduation options, Jackie found McPherson College.

There, Jackie serves as president of the C.A.R.S. Club, the automotive restoration student organization, and is a member of Rogue Writers, the creative writing club on campus. Naturally, she loves the fact that every automobile has a story to tell: “Classic car collectors are important because they preserve not only the vehicles, but the stories that are attached to them.”

She also enjoys the creativity that surrounds her in the auto industry. “I love rat rods!” she says. “The artistic brain [needed] to create a ratty rat rod is something you don’t get to see every day. Anything out of the ordinary and rare always grabs my attention.”

While at McPherson, Jackie has continued to develop her skills in the area she first loved — paint — but she has also found a new passion.

“Sanding is relaxing for me; I listen to music and become one with the work,” says Jackie. “I’ve also discovered my love of upholstery. Feeling the different types of materials, watching my hand guide it through the machine, hypnotized by the sound of the machine as it punctures each stitch — it all gives me an adrenaline rush.”

This past summer, Jackie was an intern at Gladstone Auto Trim in Gladstone, Missouri, where she repaired vehicle seats and boat seats and helped make booths for restaurants. After college, she now hopes to pursue a career in upholstery and “create an impact on my community with positivity and joy.”

PHIL HILL SCHOLAR Nate McLaughlin of Ticonderoga, New York A SENIOR AT MCPHERSON COLLEGE Nate McLaughlin believes every car has a story to tell, and he wants to play a role in the story of many cars. That’s why he has been drawn to a career in automotive restoration.

“Each car tells a story of the time it was built, who built it, and who ended up with the car,” Nate says. “Being part of a car’s history, whether you own and drive it every day or you work on bringing it back to life, is what I like most about cars.”

The first car that sparked Nate’s interest was a Mustang that he purchased from his mom for one dollar. He began fixing it up and making it his own, but it wasn’t until he started restoring and painting cars with his grandfather that he discovered his passion. The first time he picked up a paint gun, Nate knew that he wanted a career working on cars: “Whether it’s a small hand-built aluminum bodied Porsche or a piece of Americana like a 1967 Camaro, you really get a feel for that time period as you work on these cars. It’s like nothing else.”

In addition to the history, Nate is drawn to the car world because of the community there: “I think the most surprising thing about the car world is just how willing people are to give you a helping hand. There will always be someone to help you when you’re working on your car. Not to mention all of the forums and videos dedicated to sharing information about cars.”

Through an internship at Vintage Car Works in Denver, Nate fell in love with Porsches — his dream car is now the 1974 prototype 922 RSR Turbo — and he now hopes to have a career contributing to the restoration of early air-cooled Porsches by doing concours-quality paint jobs. “I would love to work for a high-end restoration shop where I can continue to build my skills,” he said.

For now, Nate keeps busy as a member of the C.A.R.S. Club on campus. An honor roll student, Nate also plays percussion in the McPherson College band, works in the admissions office and the advancement office, and is a resident assistant for the Student Life office.

PHIL HILL SCHOLAR Dylan Riley of Lake Ozark, Missouri A SENIOR AT MCPHERSON COLLEGE Dylan Riley can’t remember a time when he wasn’t interested in cars. He considers himself a hands-on learner with a real fascination about the history of cars.

“I’m not only interested in learning how to properly restore antique automobiles, but I also want to know the history of where these cars come from and the stories behind them,” he says.

Dylan’s interest in cars has developed over time. It started in his father’s garage, working on cars from the 1970s.

“Where I grew up the big car shows were full of Camaros, Mustangs, and Chevelles, so that was all I really knew,” he says. “At McPherson College and through internships, I have been exposed to the more elegant and stylish classic automobiles and have really developed a love of Brass Era cars and early European sports cars. I look forward to learning even more about them.”

While learning about these cars and growing to appreciate them, Dylan was surprised by the number of makes and models of cars he had never heard of before. “I was blown away,” he says. “It was crazy to me to see how in the early 1900s everyone was throwing an engine onto something with wheels and calling it a car. Now there are only a handful of large companies that control the entire automobile industry.”

At McPherson College, Dylan takes his academics seriously; he has been included on the honor role. He is also active in the student car club and is a member of the Model T build team.

Dylan understands that cars serve as a tangible record of the past and wants to be part of maintaining and preserving them. His focus for now is on engines.

“I am good with numbers and measurements, which is crucial for finding tolerances during a build,” he says. “Plus, once the build is finished, the feeling I get after putting in all that hard work to finally hear that engine fire up for the first time is like no other. It’s one of the coolest things.”

He also loves driving different cars: “I love being able to feel how a car works and learn how each one may be different from the others. I love going fast — but cruising around in a prewar car can be just as exciting and sometimes feel just as dangerous.”

As for his dream car? Dylan goes back to his roots — a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T.