Photos: Perfect attendance earns Anchorage student a new Jeep

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Abigail "Abbey" Gamboa of East, Piyares Thongkerd of Bartlett, Harlan Bronson of Eagle River, Hayden Hanson of Dimond and Katelyn Bushnell of East take turns trying their keys in five vehicles parked in a semicircle at the Drive for Perfect Attendance finale event on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, at Lithia Chrysler Jeep Dodge of South Anchorage. The five finalists trying to win a vehicle were chosen from 386 high school juniors and seniors who maintained perfect attendance for the entire school year. The five picked keys and then rotated through five Jeep Compasses until the one winning key, held by Gamboa, started up the vehicle matching the key. While Gamboa won a separate Compass parked nearby, the other four received 50,000 Alaska Airlines miles courtesy of GCI.

Abigail "Abbey" Gamboa of East High School won a 2014 Jeep Compass at the Drive for Perfect Attendance finale event Tuesday at Lithia Chrysler Jeep Dodge of South Anchorage.

Gamboa, along with Piyares Thongkerd of Bartlett, Harlan Bronson of Eagle River, Hayden Hanson of Dimond and Katelyn Bushnell of East were selected to try for a vehicle from 386 high school juniors and seniors who maintained perfect attendance for the entire school year.

The five picked keys and then rotated through five Jeep Compasses parked in a semicircle until the one winning key, held by Gamboa, started up the vehicle matching the key. While Gamboa won a Compass, the other four received 50,000 Alaska Airlines miles courtesy of GCI.

"Happy!" is how Gamboa described herself after the event. "My parents said 'You're going to win, you're going to win!'," she said.

Now the high school junior will need to test for her driver's license.

"I was planning to do it in the summer," she said.

Lithia donated the vehicle for the Drive for Perfect Attendance program, which is also sponsored by GCI, the Anchorage School District and the Anchorage School District Business Partnership.