Gifts

What is your hometown?  Chicago, Illinois.

What inspired you to choose SIU?  The educational program, suggestions, and opportunities listed to me during my college tour.

What are your hobbies, interests, and/or activity groups that you are currently involved in?  My hobbies include reading, cooking, and studying. I am currently a member of the University Honors Program and WATT (Women in Automotive Transportation Technology) where we collaborate effectively to help one another and the Carbondale community.

What is your most memorable experience thus far at SIU?  The most memorable experience at SIU was when I got a job at the University Dining Hall. It opened me up to college life better, to other students, and allowed me to make great friendships my first semester.

What would you tell a prospective student about SIU?  I would highly recommend SIU to others because it’s a great environment, has collaborative workspaces, and the academic experience is very one-on-one where you can get to know your classmates and teachers.

What do you brag about most when you tell your friends about SIU?  SIU has the most amazing, hardworking, and influential individuals you will ever meet, I have meet wonderful people here. 

How has SIU inspired you?  The ways SIU has inspired me to always be myself and that times will get hard but the people around you will make it better along with many college resources.

What does the scholarship mean to you and how has it enabled you to pursue your goals?  This scholarship personally means a lot to me because it allows me to have another semester here at SIU. I can continue to reach academic success and standings without financial issues and also motivates me because my work ethic was recognized.

Why should someone consider donating to SIU?  Donating to SIU will help the university continue to make college life better for students, improve resources to better fit students, and allows SIU to continue to provide the best education.

Do you have a message that you would like to share with scholarship donors?  I would like to personally thank all scholarships donors because you really impact and help students. The inspiration you fill students with is indescribable. Being a scholarship recipient myself I can say you enable students to continue with their dreams and success.

What is your hometown?  Steeleville, Illinois.

What inspired you to choose SIU?  I was inspired to come to SIU to continue my automotive degree by hearing about SIU's great automotive program through my advisor and professors at the community college.

What are your hobbies, interests, and/or activity groups that you are currently involved in?  My hobbies include bass fishing, and I also enjoy relaxing by playing video games. I am obviously interested in anything cars and find that most of my close friends share this same interest and have influenced me deeply.

What is your most memorable experience thus far at SIU?  My most memorable experience so far is going to the homecoming football game this year with a few friends it was a great game and a great time where I was able to feel connected to SIU and its students.

What would you tell a prospective student about SIU?  I would tell them that the professors at SIU in the automotive program are some of the best and most caring people I have ever gotten to learn from. Everyone really wants to be able to see you leave with a job and watch you succeed in industry.

What do you brag about most when you tell your friends about SIU?  I mostly brag about our automotive program and all the cool new vehicles we get to experiment on. I also brag about how I like our campus and always enjoy going on walks in the woods around the lake.

How has SIU inspired you?  SIU has inspired me to be the best person I can be, my professors have inspired me to make sure I am never doubting my abilities and talents.

What does the scholarship mean to you and how has it enabled you to pursue your goals?  This scholarship means the world to me to be able to relief some of the financial stress of college, so I can focus even more on my studies instead of money. It has helped me to pursue my goals by letting me focus my attention to doing opportunities that I might have been hesitant to do before because of money. Opportunities like shadowing people in industry or doing externships/internships.

Why should someone consider donating to SIU?  They should because the students here all really want to succeed and care about their studies. All the people here are focused on the goal of making a change in the work force. This means that any money given just helps to reinforce this goal and keep everyone here focused on creating positive change in the world.

Do you have a message that you would like to share with scholarship donors?  Thank you for everything you do for SIU and its students. Trust me when I say it does not go unnoticed or unappreciated.

Navistar, manufacturer of International trucks, has committed to increasing its partnership and support of the SIU School of Automotive. Navistar recently donated equipment valued at over $60,000 and five complete trucks with a value exceeding $330,000. One of the donated trucks is the International’s premier line Lonestar model painted in Saluki maroon and white to celebrate the nation’s premier Automotive Program.

SIU Automotive is a competitive admissions program with more student applicants than can be accepted. Coupled with an extremely large demand for SIU Automotive graduates in all sectors of the industry, including the medium and heavy-duty truck sector, Navistar hopes that this donation helps spur the expansion of the program to accept more students to the University.

Navistar has committed to even more support for the SIU Automotive Department’s ability to grow and continue graduating the future industry leaders so desperately need.

Navistar is an active recruiter of SIU Automotive students, providing paid corporate internships and employment opportunities for our graduates. SIU Automotive graduates hold numerous executive positions with Navistar and are responsible for providing this donation. SIU Automotive graduates truly display “Once a Saluki – Always a Saluki!”

For Neil Swartz, it was a unique homecoming.

A 1978 graduate of SIU’s automotive technology program, Swartz is one of many alumni who remembers the program’s previous home, the old military barracks in Carterville.

Of course, now automotive technology students spend their days at the Transportation Education Center at Southern Illinois Airport in Murphysboro. In late August, Swartz walked around TEC for the first time.

“It is like an island paradise,” Swartz said. “This is my first time back here. It’s overwhelming. It’s even more impressive than I could have imagined.”

A strong supporter of the program, Swartz played an integral role in the planning process of the facility. He served on the SIU Automotive National Advisory Board for 20-plus years and secured the first corporate donation for TEC.

“I championed Toyota’s corporate donation,” said Swartz, who has worked for Toyota Motor North America since 1985 and is vice president of the company’s Parts Supply Chain. “It demonstrates Toyota’s commitment to the communities we serve, higher education and automotive excellence.”

More recently, he funded an endowed scholarship. The Neil Swartz Scholarship Endowment Fund is awarded to an automotive technology student.

Toyota matches his gifts so as Swartz adds thousands of dollars each year to his fund, Toyota generously donates the same amount dollar for dollar. Many companies, both large and small, offer similar matching gift programs to employees.

“More donors need to take advantage of matching gifts,” Swartz said. “It benefits the students, the university and ultimately Toyota because SIU is home to the best automotive technology program in the country. I’ve stayed connected because I believe in the commitment the program has to its students.”

He encourages alumni to stay connected, return to campus and give back when they can.

“I know what my education at SIU meant to me. I have a lot of gratitude to SIU, particularly the automotive program. It allowed me to learn, grow, and have a successful career,” Swartz said. “However, I believe you’re not truly successful until you can give back.”

The paths of Zac Winstead, Bryan Jenkins and Dan Corey converged at SIU’s automotive program in the late 1990s. All three grew up in small towns across Illinois and Indiana and each had an affinity for automobiles.

When they arrived on campus, they immediately knew it felt right. Jenkins remembers coming down to Carbondale with his parents and feeling that instant connection.

“Back then, the automotive technology program was located in the blue barracks near Carterville, Illinois. Even though it wasn’t much to look at, I knew I was home. I remember thinking if I could get a job in the automotive technology field, I would enjoy going to work for the rest of my days. Turned out I was right, “Jenkins said.

Their introductions to one another came through their vehicles. “At first, we didn’t know each other’s names, but we knew each other’s trucks, “Corey said. “I drove a 1989 Chevy S-10, and Bryan drove a 1971 Chevy C-10 and Zac drove a 1977 F-150,” Corey said. They eventually became close friends, spending weekends together singing karaoke at a Carbondale establishment known as Key West.

“In the 1980s, there was a country music group known as the Highwaymen with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson,” Winstead said. Each of us had our own connection to the group. Although we could not sing like them, we had a great time trying.

After graduation, they began their careers and the work took them on different paths across the country to California and Louisiana and, eventually, Michigan.

“If you are in the automotive industry, most roads eventually lead back to Detroit,” Jenkins said.

The friendship has lasted well over the course of twenty-five years. Their bond has only grown stronger now that they all live in the Detroit area.  Winstead ‘01 is a director at Ally Financial. Jenkins ‘01 is a manager of Ford’s hotline department and Corey, ’01 and ’02, works as a service representative for Hino Trucks, a Toyota truck division.

The three also maintain a bond with SIU. Corey often returns to SIU for visits when he delivers trucks to southern Illinois. Jenkins serves on the SIU automotive technology program’s advisory board and Winstead has stayed in touch with many of the program’s leaders, such as Michael Behrmann, chair of SIU’s Automotive Technology Department.

Behrmann says their bond is not uncommon in the automotive technology program and many alumni stay closely connected beyond graduation.

“The careers for Zac, Dan, and Bryan led each to different corporations and different parts of the world. Their ties with SIU Automotive and each other continued over the years. Today, their careers have located them close together once again,” Behrmann said.

While many donors wait until the end of their careers to give back, Winstead, Jenkins and Corey are giving back now. Each is donating $500 every quarter for the next five years. By 2024, they will have funded an endowed scholarship of $25,000. Preference will be given to a student who has demonstrated success in the SIU Automotive Program and who has worked in the automotive/transportation industry. A demonstrated knowledge of the Highwaymen will also be a relevant factor.

“Our goal in setting up a scholarship is not to reward the best and the brightest students. We aren’t necessarily looking for a 4.0 student. We are all fortunate enough to enjoy what we do and want to help other students just like us,” Jenkins said.

Winstead agrees.

“Looking back, those were the best four years of my life and I would go back and replay it all in a minute. SIU was a setting that helped me prepare for real life and real experiences,” he said. “I just want to give that experience to someone else.”

For Corey, SIU changed the trajectory of his life.

“It was a beacon that let our lights shine. SIU gave us all the opportunities to do what we love in an industry we didn’t know existed. In the towns where we grew up, there was no path to get there,” he said.

Behrmann is appreciative of the gift and hopes other Salukis will follow in their footsteps.

“The Highwaymen Automotive Scholarship will encourage our students to continue working hard and striving to become their best while also providing much needed financial assistance. It demonstrates the Saluki family support for their future success.” Behrmann said.

The dedication of the Bosch Automotive Parts Center in Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Transportation Education Center was a celebration of a longstanding partnership that benefits students while they are in school and after they graduate.

The facility in the Transportation Education Center is the central hub for connecting students to the public and providing quality automotive parts students need to perform their laboratory experiments. The center will also house the department’s retail parts and service operations office, where the public interacts with the department and its operations.

The auto parts center is integral to the program’s success and is an important educational resource for faculty and students, Andy Wang, dean of the College of Applied Sciences and Arts, said.

“This gift from Bosch supports the university’s mission to recruit talented students to serve the region and beyond. It is always rewarding to invest in education for young generations,” Wang said. “Through this Bosch Auto Parts Center, we are able to create a unique learning environment with advanced automotive technologies and a great variety of auto parts and supplies that equip our students to become leaders in automotive industry.”

Michael Behrmann, department chair, said Bosch actively recruits SIU automotive graduates for automotive product and program management. Two program alumni, Rob Darrow, a 2005 graduate, and James Seargent, a 2003 graduate, were among Bosch officials at the dedication. Darrow, a manager of strategic projects; Seargent, a senior customer marketing analyst, and Tim Bruin, vice president of field sales for Robert Bosch LLC, Automotive Aftermarket North America, presented the plaque for the facility.

“As the world’s largest automotive supplier, Bosch has a particular passion to foster the education and growth of those who will build the future of this industry. We are both honored and proud to partner with the Southern Illinois University Automotive Technology department to support its unique program, equipping students with the specialized knowledge and skills needed to step into active and productive roles in their chosen fields,” said Odd Joergenrud, regional president, North America, Robert Bosch LLC, Automotive Aftermarket. 

Bosch has been “fortunate” to hire several SIU graduates, many with “long and distinguished careers,” Tim Bruin said.

“We find them to be knowledgeable from both the technical and business perspectives, highly enthusiastic, and innovative thinkers who have advanced Bosch and the industry through their contributions,” he said.

“Bosch’s coordinated engagement and development experiences help attract and prepare individuals that are highly capable of becoming the future leaders of one of the world’s largest corporations,” Behrmann said.

“Support from Bosch also allows the department’s outstanding faculty to remain involved in research and development of some of the most advanced technical and business developments occurring in the industry,” Behrmann said. “The SIU and Bosch working relationship supports the entire educational environment for students, faculty and the public.”

Behrmann said graduates “are highly sought after and respected in the industry” with numerous positions available in product support, management, business operations, training and service engineering from major corporations, suppliers and government agencies. With an abundance of paid corporate co-op and internships positions available for students, corporations such as Bosch begin recruiting students even in their freshman year, Behrmann said. About 90 percent of last year’s graduating class had accepted a job offer prior to graduating, and the remaining students had an average of two job offers they were deciding on.

SIU Carbondale provides one of the few automotive technology baccalaureate degrees in the nation and the only four-year degree of its kind in Illinois. Established in 1952, the competitive admission program has more than 250 national and international students with more than 70 graduates each year.