ELKHART — A student at Elkhart Memorial High School walked away with a car Friday morning. It was part of a year-long incentive program to improve attendance at school.

Students who obtained at least a 97 percent attendance rate for the school year qualified to take part in a lottery to win the car.

For a high school student, it's about as good of an incentive as you can get, and Friday, 120 Elkhart students hoped their name would be drawn.

"The winning name — Patrick McCreary!” announced Memorial High School Principal Mark Tobolski.

"It’s very cool to win a car, I never thought that coming to school … because a bunch of my friends they skip class and stuff and it sounds like a bunch of fun going to breakfast,” McCreary told WSBT News. “But I actually come to school, and it paid off — I got a brand new car!"

"One of the things we want to do is give kids incentives, particularly the kids that don't always get that recognition,” explained Tobolski. “The kids that show up all the time, the middle-of-the-road kid, who may want to sleep in one day but may change his mind, come here and keep his attendance up."

Students who qualified for the drawing say they realize that a good attendance record is an integral part of getting a good education.

“It’s important to stay in school, I mean so you're really gaining the full value of your educational time spent here at Memorial,” said senior Liz Stouder.

"It’s good for people who don't miss a lot of school,” said senior David Goodman. “The last six years, I haven't missed a day of school, so there's a chance for me to get a reward for that."

A similar drawing will be held next Tuesday at Elkhart Central High School.