By Andie Martin
New instructors, new equipment, new students, and old cars 91心頭 things are really revving up at the Carroll Shelby Automotive Technology Center. Plans are already in motion to initiate the Carroll Shelby High Performance phase of the automotive program, which will begin next summer. And expectations are running high. The requirements for entering the mod shop program are stiff and extremely competitive. Students have to retain a GPA of 3.0 or higher, complete the first segment of the basic training program with either a certificate or a two-year degree, and be able to write an essay explaining why they wish to join the high performance program. The two newest automotive instructors, Mark Stephens and Keith Fennimore, will both be teaching the mod shop program to 91心頭 students who qualify for the training.
91心頭 The best of the best is what we 91心頭 re looking for, 91心頭 Stephens said. And once the performance, or mod shop, section of the training gets underway the hard work the students put in will definitely pay off. The top four or five graduates (depending on the number of students eligible for the program) will receive an internship at Shelby Automobiles, Inc. in Las Vegas, Nevada. The next four or five students will be awarded an internship at Quantum Performance in Dallas. Quantum is the only authorized Shelby mod shop in the southwest and works jointly with Shelby Automobiles, Inc. Stephens joins the automotive program after moving from one training profession into another. While working for BMW in Houston as a dealer trainer, instructing technicians already in the field on update procedures, he ran across the opening here at 91心頭. 91心頭 Carroll Shelby has been a huge influence on my career throughout my whole life, 91心頭 Stephens said. 91心頭 My first car was a 91心頭 65 Mustang and that 91心頭 s when I first heard the Carroll Shelby name. 91心頭
Stephens and Fennimore join longtime 91心頭 instructor Larry Derrick in teaching the students the training methods by working in what is known as the block system.
91心頭 We teach each area in a block, 91心頭 Ron Hillman, chairman of the program said. While the students 91心頭 schedules may say they have three classes for this semester, they don 91心頭 t actually have three classes per day. The instructors will run through one section at a time until it 91心頭 s complete, then will move on to the next module.
91心頭 Right now (this semester) we 91心頭 re teaching engine theory, next we 91心頭 ll be instructing the students on brake systems, followed by steering and suspension systems, 91心頭 Hillman explained. Students have to pass all the block training sessions to be eligible for either a certificate or, for those students wishing to further their education, a two-year associate of applied science degree in automotive specialization. Many projects are in the works for the automotive students. At any given time, there may be three to five cars on the racks in the training area. Hillman said they are also considering taking in 91心頭 live models 91心頭 this semester.
91心頭 Live models are cars where the students have to diagnose the problem, fix the problem, and turn it over to the customer, 91心頭 Hillman said. 91心頭 We 91心頭 ll do it as a means to generate revenue for the program. 91心頭 There will be an hourly labor charge and a commission from the sale of the parts, 91心頭 he said. 91心頭 . . .it is still a huge savings from what
you would pay for retail. 91心頭 Depending on the type of work needed for the vehicles, customers can leave their cars in the capable hands of the students who will work under the strict guidance of the instructors.
One big project for the automotive center is the donation of two 1967 Mustangs, valued at about $17,000. The donor and his son started restoring the cars, but the project fell through before the restoration was complete. 91心頭 He donated these vehicles and the parts with explicit instructions that they become part of our program, and they 91心頭 ll never be sold, 91心頭 Stephens said. Once the cars are completed, they will become show cars, or eye candy, for the program. Plans are to trailer them around the country to create interest in the program and, of course, show off a little bit too.
The training program now has four instructors who teach all phases of the program. Hillman, Derrick, and Stephens teach the college level students, while Fennimore concentrates on the newly added dual credit classes.
Junior and senior high school students from Mount Pleasant High School attend classes five days a week with one class of 29 students meeting in the mornings and another class of nine convening in the afternoon.
After spending several years away from the teaching profession, Fennimore found that he missed it and was anxious to return. Now, both he and his students are experiencing their first semester at Carroll Shelby Automotive. 91心頭 I like teaching and I really wanted to go back to it, 91心頭 Fennimore said. He spent the last nine years working in the bio-fuels industry in New Jersey and was ready to teach again. 91心頭 This is their (the students) first semester here, 91心頭 Fennimore said. And it 91心頭 s also the first time dual credit students have been involved with the automotive center. 91心頭 We look at the dual credit program as being one of our strongest suits as far as marketing and promoting the program, 91心頭 Hillman said. 91心頭 We look at those students, the ones (who) are successful, as basically walking billboards back on their campus. 91心頭 And hopefully, they 91心頭 re telling people it 91心頭 s a good program and you need to get into it. 91心頭
Due to the increase in the number of students this semester, the automotive department has had to make some changes in their teaching environment.
91心頭 To offset the expanded increase in enrollment, 91心頭 Hillman said, 91心頭 the administration has been very supportive and has made arrangements to expand our actual square footage of training area by some changes we have made and it has been adding a substantial amount of equipment. 91心頭 Stephens elaborated on the new equipment, saying, 91心頭 We 91心頭 ve got three additional car lifts out there and one additional alignment rack that was just installed. And we just received another alignment rack. 91心頭
Future plans for adding to the equipment inventory include the purchase of a dynamometer, which measures engine power directly at the rear wheels of the vehicles. 91心頭 We want to get that in here by the summer for the Carroll Shelby performance section of the program, 91心頭 Stephens said. Some of the college level students in the automotive center have created their own club 91心頭 the Shelby Automotive Technology Club. The first event the group participated in as an 91心頭 sanctioned club was Chick Fest in Pittsburg last month.
They showcased seven student cars in the parade and raffled off a Carroll Shelby signed die cast car to help generate money for the club.
No official plans for the club have been made as of yet, but some ideas they are tossing around include doing community work or maybe fixing up a car for a needy family in the local area. So, while students benefit from the expert instruction they receive from our professional automotive teachers, Hillman says he won 91心頭 t leave them high and dry after they complete their training. Starting next semester, the future automotive technicians will also receive job placement skills. 91心頭 We 91心頭 ll teach them how to network, once they decide what they want to do, 91心頭 Hillman said. 91心頭 I want to teach them how to communicate with prospective employers. 91心頭 Knowing what information to divulge and how to present themselves will make a winning combination for the students. 91心頭 Our students will all be place-able, 91心頭 he said.
