Not one, but two cars were given away to lucky William S. Hart Union School District students at College of the Canyons on Tuesday night.

“Well we wanted to go big this year,” said Dan Sterkel, general manager of Nissan of Valencia. “We wanted to do something for a student that does something for our community.”

The annual drawing, hosted by Nissan of Valencia, gives away a 2015 Nissan Versa to two high school students who have at least a 2.0 grade point average, a 97 percent attendance rate and have no suspensions or expulsions from October 2014 to March 20, 2015.

The first car was given away to a student who has made an impact on the community.
Jessy Holen, a senior and ASB president at West Ranch High School, was the first to pick a key and the winner of the white, 2015 Nissan Versa.

“I didn’t know what to think, I thought oh this is going to be fun,” Holen said . “Once I put it in and turned it on, I didn’t think it was really happening.”

Along with the new car giveaway, a drawing gave away thousands of dollars away to students from Academy of the Canyons, Sequoia Charter School, Bowman, Golden Valley, Hart, Saugus, Valencia, and West Ranch High School.

At 7:30 p.m. Dave Caldwell announced they would be giving away the second car, a charcoal 2015 Nissan Versa.

Four students were randomly chosen to come to the front of the stands, each was given a random key.

The last student, Sam Hafermalz, a junior at Saugus High School, won the car but almost missed it completely.

“I was sitting all the way at the top and my friends were trying to leave,” said Hafermalz. “My name was said and I could hardly believe it, I came down around the bleachers and heard them ask ‘Sam are you here?’ and had to sprint to the front.”