On the last day for seniors at Overland High School, the automotive program received keys to a brand-new car! Incoming automotive students will now have the chance to explore cutting-edge technology and gain hands-on experience disassembling and reassembling a modern vehicle.
“All the cars we use in class have been donated and usually have 100,000-200,000 miles on them,” Auto Tech Teacher Larry Wilkenson said. “I honestly don’t know how to react to having a car with only 56 miles on it.”
The Lincoln Aviator was donated by Larry H. Miller Ford Lakewood and Ford Motor Company. It’s a vehicle that had been flooded and couldn’t be sold. Currently, the other cars in the Overland auto shop are about 20 years old.
“We look for opportunities where we can’t sell vehicles and donate those to programs such as this to allow our students to work on more modern technology cars,” General Manager Tim Brand explained. “I started as a technician in high school and my grandfather taught automotive technology for thirty years, and we had nothing like this to work on, so it’s amazing we could do it, and I’m super excited the students can work on something that is on the road today.”
This is the first time that the school has had a brand-new vehicle donated to them; typically they have used cars, engines, and transmissions to tinker with. The students in automotive have been doing Ford training and support certification for years. The soon-to-be graduates hope future automotive students will appreciate this major donation.
“It’s a beautiful car,” Senior Anelle Tridle said. “I think that it will be beneficial because a lot of our cars are older so you can’t compare the technology to today’s cars that will come in if you go into a career like that. With this car, it looks like cars that you’ll see on the road, and you can take that into the real world.”
Many of the automotive students plan to keep working under the hood after high school. They had the opportunity to meet with Ford Motor Company representatives to discuss pathways in the automotive business. Wilkenson believes his students have what it takes to work in the automotive world.
“They’ve been rock stars,” he added. “Most of them I’ve had for three years, if not four, in my automotive program. They spent most of their high school years working closely with cars.”
“It’s definitely a class that I would recommend, especially at first you learn the basics of car maintenance,” Tridle said. “It’s good to just know how everything works and try to do it on your own, because you can save money on it, too. Once you get deeper and deeper into it, you can find a career that you love.”
As the program continues to equip students with valuable skills and certifications, the generous donation of a new Lincoln Aviator to Overland High School’s automotive program will enrich the learning environment for many students interested in automotive technology. This new learning tool will boost students' knowledge and confidence to thrive in any automotive endeavor they choose to pursue.
Posted on 5/13/2024.
