Saturday May 13, Automotive Technology celebrated another graduating class of Automotive Technicians. All of the students are currently working part-time while finishing their education; they will start working full-time as soon as finals are over. They all accomplished 3 years of very extensive training, preparing them for an exciting and rewarding future. Nine students were awarded $500.00 scholarships and one student won a $1,000.00 scholarship. Additionally, Automotive Career Advancement Academy (CAA), awarded several special awards to its graduating class.
Thomas Broxholm, the program coordinator, highlighted the program’s outstanding 5 years retention & success numbers. Retention is at 94.6% and the success is at 85.3%. Professor Broxholm also noted that the Skyline College Automotive program was awarded a “CTE Star” program accommodation from the State Chancellor’s office. This means that 71 % of our students are earning a living wage and 100% have reported employment in their field of study. James Gilroy from the CTE Starts Recognition team asked professor Broxholm what factors make Skyline College Automotive program successful. Professor Broxholm responded with three answers.
Factor 1
- Our relationship with local high schools, community centers, local businesses, and by having a strong advisory board.
Factor 2
- Long classes so the students can have extensive hands on training coupled with innovative teaching techniques and advanced critical thinking activities.
Factor 3
- The entire staff biannually attends professional development training in automotive technology and in dynamic teaching pedagogy techniques.
Professor Broxholm concluded by acknowledging the success of the automotive graduating students and reminded them that they are part of the automotive department family.
Article by Thomas Broxholm | Photo by Brittney Sneed