From Scholarship Recipients to SkillsUSA Standouts: Two Students Showcase the Power of Industry Support

Written for the Collision Repair Education Foundation

At SkillsUSA Nationals, the glamour is in the gold, silver and bronze, yet the actual medal ceremony lasts only a few minutes. The real story begins long before the winners take the stage – it develops in the early mornings, the busted knuckles, the practice runs, the mentors who pushed them harder and the moment they realized this industry could become a career. And when they emerge victorious, those medals represent years of shop hours, self-doubt, repetition and the decision to keep showing up anyway.

For Madison Warren and Isabella Roll, those few moments on stage represented far more than a medal. It signified the perfect alignment of fierce personal determination and vital industry investment. This wasn’t either competitor’s first time stepping into the national arena, but by refusing to settle for past results, both young women transformed lessons from their previous attempts into a powerful launchpad for success. Their stories illustrate what can happen when talent meets opportunity – and when students refuse to let the past define their future.

Each journey started in the classroom where both Warren and Roll developed a love for the trade, cultivated by passionate instructors and nurtured through industry support, including resources and opportunities made possible through organizations such as the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF).

As a freshman, Warren hadn’t yet mapped out her future. She was interested in both cosmetology and collision repair, but after enrolling in Unaka High School’s collision repair program, she found herself drawn to an industry that would eventually take her all the way to the SkillsUSA national stage. Although she initially dabbled in body work and refinish, she didn’t find her niche until she learned damage appraisal. “Every vehicle is a puzzle you fix by using OEM procedures,” she shares. “I enjoy meeting customers and explaining how the repair process works. I quickly fell in love with estimating.”

Her obvious passion led her instructor, Scotty Johnson, to suggest that she compete in the damage appraisal competition at SkillsUSA. Warren was initially hesitant. “At the time, I could barely name one car part,” she recalls; however, her teacher’s confidence encouraged her to throw her hat in the ring as a junior. She advanced to Nationals in 2025 and came in fifth, but rather than becoming discouraged, she found inspiration. “The opportunities in this industry amazed me, and I knew I could do it.”

Warren used that inspiration as fuel to push even harder as she prepared to compete her senior year. She practiced constantly and attended various training opportunities, and she also focused on her mindset. “Every day, I listed out the things I’d done to prepare for the competition, and the night before my main competition, I watched the SkillsUSA nationals award ceremony and imagined myself on stage. I still woke up nervous – competing against 26 other high school estimators is a bit nerve-wracking – but I was also excited to show off everything I’d learned my senior year.” And whenever doubt threatened to overwhelm her, Warren knew how to handle it: “I simply reminded myself of all the hard work I’d put in and called upon that image of walking across that stage to fuel me throughout the eight-hour competition!”

That image shaped reality as Warren left Atlanta with a gold medal in Collision Damage Appraisal (high school division), and she credits last year’s defeat for helping her emerge victorious. “If it wasn’t for my loss at nationals during my junior year, I wouldn’t have tried as hard as I did this year to win.”

Roll also used last year’s defeat as motivation. “I came in ninth in 2025, so my goal was to do better than I did last year,” she shares. “Because I competed last year, I felt a lot more comfortable this time around and knew what was expected of me. Thanks to the education I received at North Dakota State College of Science (Wahpeton, ND) and my extensive experience as a painter in shops, I felt prepared…but I was still a little nervous. Of course, nervousness is just part of competing in almost anything, and I think that feeling was actually good for me because it ensured I really ‘locked in’ and was conscious of how I performed.”

To anchor those high-stakes nerves, Roll relied heavily on the foundational training provided by her collegiate program. “My education in the Auto Body Repair and Refinishing program was top grade,” she says. “My school and professors devoted a lot of time and effort to providing top-quality equipment, activities and exercises for my classmates and me. It really makes a difference when your program and teachers want you to succeed, and I have grown immensely since I started school in 2024.”

That combination of classroom instruction and real-world experience gave Roll the confidence to return to Nationals determined to improve on her ninth-place finish. Because she recognized a few mistakes she’d made in color tinting last year that set her back, Roll focused on avoiding “any silly mistakes. It’s easy to get caught up in your head during high-stress situations.” Her conscientiousness yielded big results. “Being in the top three was such a great surprise. I feel like I did what I came to do!” Yet, the victory does not stop Roll from identifying future areas for improvement: “I identified mistakes in my performance, such as simple math errors, but I’m happy with my overall work.”

Warren also expresses pride when she reflects on her 2026 performance. “Competing this year highlighted the segments I would need to work on if I competed again; however, I feel really confident in the segments that I’ll use in the auto body shop.”

Her confidence can be attributed in part to an important mantra learned at school: “Mr. Johnson always tells us, ‘Trust the process.’ For me, the process began with my education at Unaka, but while preparing for my first attempt at SkillsUSA, I obtained my first job in the industry, working at Toyota of Kingsport Collision Center when I was 16 years old. The experience I gained there has opened the door to many different opportunities, and it helped prepare me for this year’s competition because working up front at the shop has given me a lot of exposure to explaining estimates to customers.”

Along the way, both students also benefited from an industry that continues investing in future talent through scholarships, training opportunities and career development initiatives.

With Warren’s high school tenure now behind her, she’s looking forward to attending college at Nashville Auto Diesel College. “Getting ready for college is difficult, it’s even harder while continuing other education at your job,” she acknowledges, identifying the expense of continuing education as one of the hurdles. Fortunately, Warren received a $2,500 CREF Student Scholarship through LKQ, which “will help me keep costs down and allow me to focus on my current education.”

For Warren, the financial assistance was meaningful, but so was the message behind it. “The support I’ve found significantly shows me the value of being in this field,” she says. “The opportunities motivate me to continue my education in this field. This field is continuing to grow with a constant need for new employees. It’s important for collision industry professionals to support collision school programs because we are the future of the industry. The more support they offer, the more education this generation will bring into the industry.”

Industry support has played a vital role in Roll’s collision industry career already. Although her high school auto body program “really sparked my interest in refinishing,” she debated whether to enter the workforce or attend college as graduation approached. “College is expensive, so I was nervous about enrolling and accruing debt.”

Fortunately, Roll received a $1,500 scholarship from CREF and LKQ which helped make the decision a little easier. “CREF’s scholarships were amazing for my education and career. It really helped me get my degree and feel good about that decision. Receiving support from CREF and the industry felt like such a push to get out there and try challenging things because I had people in my corner. Seeing firsthand the support and push for students to continue their learning in the workforce, and knowing that we are needed, is so important. Receiving aid and resources from the industry was very motivating for me to push myself and do my best, because I knew I would be rewarded if I put in the work.”

Roll believes it’s incredibly important for the industry to actively maintain this pipeline, warning that a lack of funding directly degrades a student’s preparedness for real-world shops. “It is extremely important because students like me need that support to feel like we can make a difference and be ready for the workforce,” Roll explains. “Without funding and support, many programs would not be able to provide top-notch equipment, curriculum like I-Car, and tools for their students, which really makes the difference between a sub-par and an excellent program.”

Beyond funding existing programs, she also believes it’s critical to expose students to these opportunities as early as possible. “It is super important to advocate for trade programs and classes in high school because young people need to know what jobs and fields exist, or they can never try to pursue them.”

The success of students like Warren and Roll reflects a broader commitment across the collision repair industry to invest in the next generation of professionals. Among CREF’s longtime supporters, LKQ continues to play a significant role in strengthening that pipeline. In 2025, the company contributed $100,000 to CREF, funding $60,000 in School Benchmark Awards, awarding $20,000 in Student Scholarships and donating $20,000 to CREF’s General Fund, which helps sustain multiple Foundation initiatives, including career fairs, workforce development efforts and student uniform programs. Through these investments, LKQ is helping equip both students and schools with the resources needed to build tomorrow’s collision repair workforce.

“LKQ is proud to play a small part in the development of students in the collision repair industry, like Isabella and Madison,” said Senior Vice President of External Affairs, Ian Musselman. “The LKQ Foundation’s support of CREF and SkillsUSA demonstrates the priority that our organization has on fostering continued education. We are encouraged to witness, firsthand, the quality of skills exhibited by the next generation of automotive technicians who are taking advantage of the excellent technical schools that this country has to offer.”

While both competitors are proud of what they’ve accomplished, neither view Nationals as the finish line. Warren looks forward to a long future in collision repair. “After college, I plan to continue working at Toyota of Kingsport Collision Center. With their program, I plan to help our high schoolers at SkillsUSA. It’s also my goal to help other auto body shops get paid for the required procedures we have to do in order to repair vehicles.”

Roll aims to find a professional niche that blends her technical precision with her natural ability to connect with others. “My ultimate career goals are to learn as much as I can and put my knowledge to work in a technical paint support role where I can work with people and color. I enjoy challenging myself and working with others, so I want to combine my social nature and my interest in refinishing.”

Ultimately, the legacy of their success lives on in the blueprints they leave behind for future students. When asked what advice she would pass along to the next wave of trade competitors preparing for the bright lights of SkillsUSA, Roll emphasizes deep technical familiarity. “I recommend familiarizing yourself as much as possible with the products and procedures the competition uses before it comes. Each paint line and procedure is a little different, so it is really what sets you apart from the competition when you do follow those procedures, take those extra steps, and execute them well. SkillsUSA posts all the products used along with the Technical Data Sheets, so the information is available to help you familiarize yourself with and memorize them.”

Looking back on the whirlwind journey from small-town classrooms to national medals, Roll notes that the real prize of the experience extends far beyond the physical hardware. Through SkillsUSA, industry mentors and support from organizations such as CREF, she gained access to a network of professionals who reinforced that students have a future in collision repair.

“The best part about this experience was the exposure to so much networking and the chance to see how much the industry supports students. It is so inspiring and fun to meet such cool people who want to share what they know with you. SkillsUSA and organizations that support students are incredibly important, and I hope that this part of the industry continues to grow and encourages individuals to be a part of it.”

Industry members interested in getting involved and supporting the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s efforts to assist high school and college collision repair training programs can Contact Us to learn about the many ways to get involved. Monetary donations can be made online, or sign up for The Donation Exchange to easily provide in-kind resources that collision repair schools and students desperately need.

###

The Collision Repair Education Foundation, founded in 1991, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting collision repair educational programs, schools and students to create qualified, entry-level employees and connect them with an array of career opportunities. For information on how to donate to programs supported by the Education Foundation, visit us online at: www.CollisionRepairEducationFoundation.org.

Follow us on social media on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

If you would like more information about this topic or any of CREF’s initiatives, please email info@ed-foundation.org.