10/13/2026
For Noe Chico, getting a second chance at the career he always wanted started with a promise to his daughter.
After putting his automotive dreams on hold to raise his daughter, Chico returned to school at 15 years into fatherhood, balancing work, night classes and studying to build a future in the industry he has loved since high school.
A Ford Auto Tech Scholarship, awarded in partnership with TechForce Foundation, helped make that path possible — supporting not only tuition, but tools, certifications and other barriers that can stand between students and their careers.
Now, Chico is working toward his goal of opening a shop of his own someday.
“I'm not willing to settle,” he says, “because settling would mean I gave up in front of her.”