Victoria Cornejo just wanted to study for finals Thursday morning. Instead, she won a car.

Cornejo, a sophomore at Sparks High School, asked her P.E. teacher, Sandy Hardesty, if she could miss the annual school assembly, "Read for the Ride," because she wanted to focus on school work.

The assembly, where raffle tickets were being drawn to win prizes incuding a refurbished car, didn't interest Cornejo because she said she thought she didn't have a chance. But Hardesty talked her into it.

"I told her that you just never know what could happen," Hardesty said. "This might be your (Cornejo's) lucky day."

And it was Cornejo's lucky day as a participant in the "Read for the Ride" program, which allows students to earn points for books they read in exchange for raffle tickets for a final prize drawing. Prizes included two laptop computers, a desktop computer, an iPod MP3 player and a car — this year being a 1997 Dodge Intrepid.

Cornejo has just one of the more than 1,000 raffle tickets in the drawing.

Patti McClelland, the literacy coordinator for Sparks High School and founder of this program 10 years ago, hopes this incentive to read stays with the students long after graduation.

"I was trying to find a way to motivate kids to read and the one thing most high school students want is a car," McClelland said. "I hope we get some life-long readers from this program."

Students were asked to select books from a software program, called Accelerated Reader, with nearly 7,000 titles from which to choose. To prove they finished a book, students took a comprehensive test on the software program, earning points depending on the reading level of the book and number of pages. For every 15 points, students were given one raffle ticket.

Brittney Stephenson, an 18-year-old senior who had read six books for the competition, said she felt the program was a win-win situation.

"I enjoy reading as it is," Stephenson said. "So of course it's nice to win something for what you enjoy doing."

Prizes were donated from the community, including McDonald's food coupons, Keen shoes and various auto repairs and car detailing courtesy of local businesses. McClelland purchased the computers and iPod with money earned from a summer golf tournament fundraiser that she and her husband host.

"The community has really stepped up for this event," McClelland said. "It's a community effort."

And Cornejo, who was stunned that she actually won, could only smile shyly, as she stepped into her first car.

"I just can't believe it," Cornejo said. "My older sisters are going to be jealous."

Cornejo said she plans to get her driver's license this summer, a newfound freedom that McClelland said she is pleased to see.

"This is going to be very meaningful to her,"McClelland said. "This gives her a measuuure of independence."

And although McClelland said she will be retiring after this year, she plans to continue "Read for the Ride” because of students like Cornejo.

"These kids worked really hard," McClelland said. "And that is why I do this."