Pennsylvania College of Technology was one of three runners-up in a national contest to find the best automotive technician training school in the country.
WIX Filters and O'Reilly Auto Parts partnered with Tomorrow's Technician magazine as title sponsors for the competition, which was won by Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood, Wash.
Penn College - which shared runner-up honors with Chipola College, Marianna, Fla., and San Diego Continuing Education - received a 200-piece automotive tool set and $250 gift card, both from O'Reilly.
"It is an honor to be recognized and nominated from the 121 schools submitted," said Colin W. Williamson, the college's dean of transportation technology. "To be voted the best in Region 4 (comprising the East Coast) is certainly a credit to the program, faculty and students."
The School of the Year program was open to all high schools or postsecondary schools that subscribe to Tomorrow's Technician. Judging criteria included academic offerings, graduation rates, faculty-to-student ratios, scholarships, job placement and letters of recommendation.
Each nominated school will receive recognition on the publication's website, as well as through social media. In addition, institutions were able to post videos to the magazine's YouTube channel highlighting their automotive programs.
