by Preston McConnell |

The smell of oil and the sounds bring everything into play and give students the experience needed to make this profession a career. For those people that do not know, Auto Tech is a class here in the high school where your cars get quality repair. It might be one of the classes most similar to the real world.

“Yeah, I enjoy this class better than other classes because this one is more hands-on and like the real world,” senior Riley Schorer said.

The classroom is located in the basement of the school and can be reached through the doors by the industrial technology hallway. The students in the class with the most experience are hard at work fixing cars all class period.

With more than 100 students enrolled in the class, organization is key.      Students wanting to work on their own vehicles have to schedule a time to do so.

“We currently have 105 auto tech students and our shop holds only two vehicles at a time, so careful planning has to be done,” Auto Tech teacher Joe Wheeler said.

To start the class, bookwork must get complete.

“Right now it’s not very exciting because we are learning the material, but when we learn all of it, we will be able to go out into the garage and work on the cars,” sophomore Damien Brown said. Students must know the theoretical side of the cars they are fixing, so there is no room for error.

When it is time to work on the cars, students have some responsibilities.

“Yeah we do, but the students must buy the parts,” Schrorer said. Even though parts are expensive, labor is expensive too.

Using the class for repair work could really save some money.

The students in this class can fix American made and foreign cars, it does not matter. Their skills do not stop at fixing cars either; the students learn to fix anything that involves a small gas engine.

“Other than cars and trucks, we also work on dirt bikes, motorcycles, ATVs and lawn mowers, or anything with a small gas engine. In most cases, we are able to fix everything that comes into our shop.  The trade-off is that some repairs we do take longer than a regular shop due to class schedules,” Wheeler said.

The classroom is located right next to the garage and it really makes the students feel like they are in a car shop. “I want to do something with auto tech and I plan on going to college for it,” Schrorer said. This class will set up the students for success in the near future.

“Oh yeah I would recommend this class! Not really for girls though,

but guys for sure!” Brown said.

For girls out there though, just because Brown does not think so, does not mean a female cannot have fun and succeed in the class.

“We typically have at least one girl in each class.  Girls do just fine in the classes.  We currently have a female student who is planning on becoming a professional technician,” Wheeler said.

Sign up for repairs on the sheet in Mr. Wheeler’s room and just pay for the parts, not the service. You can get quality work on a car by well -taught students.