Students observing the students competing in the Vehicle Maintenance Inspections segment of the High School Skills Challenge competition at MPC
Monterey Peninsula College (MPC) hosted its Tenth Annual Automotive High School Skills Challenge Day on April 12, 2019.
Automotive students from six local high schools from Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties competed for awards in hands-on events such as:
- Vehicle Maintenance Inspections
- Automotive Parts Identification
- Electrical Diagnostic Challenge
- Wheel Rotation Test
- A Technical ASE Style Exam
Tesla Technician and MPC Graduate, Ike Flanders, speaking to Monterey High School students about distinctive Tesla technologies in the new Tesla X Model
Approximately 42 students competed in the event that is designed to inspire students to pursue successful career pathways through the Monterey Peninsula Colleges’ Automotive Degree and Certification Program. The event also builds and strengthens the partnerships between the college and local high school automotive programs and local automotive businesses. The six high schools participating this year included:
- Carmel High School, Carmel, CA
- Monterey High School, Monterey, CA
- Mission Trails ROP, Salinas, CA
- North Monterey County, Castroville, CA
- San Benito High School, Hollister, CA
- Seaside High School, Seaside, CA
Automotive Career Panelists Prepare to Speak to High School and College students about the wide variety of career opportunities in the automotive industry
Six students from each high school competed in two-person teams, wearing customized tee shirts, identifying their schools. Each school also brought several back-up students. MPC had its own team of six college students participating—competing amongst themselves. The two person teams with the highest scores received custom engraved torque wrenches. Prizes were also awarded to the high schools with the highest cumulative points.
The top team was awarded a six-foot tall traveling trophy that stays at their high school auto program throughout the year. The winning high team was North County High School which has dominated the event in recent years. The second place team was San Benito High School which was awarded the four-foot tall traveling trophy. Approximately 20 MPC students and alumni volunteered and supported the event and over 110 people attended the event.
Student Audience for Automotive Career Pane
Pam Gutman, DSN—ATL Bay Area, helped to funded the day-long event.
Pam also facilitated the “Careers in Automotive Technology Panel Discussion”. She recruited a diverse group of transportation and local industry leaders from automotive OEMs, automotive dealerships, independent garages, and state agencies. The Career Panel targeted students, parents, faculty, and guidance counselors and helped them understand the broad career opportunities available to interested high school and college students. The following seven automotive employers participated in the Career Panel:
- Michael Darcy, Forestry Equipment Manager, CAL FIRE, San Benito-Monterey. Michael also spoke of his first career as a Service Mechanic at Mitsubishi before working for the State of California at both CAL TRANS and now CAL FIRE. He focused on Apprenticeships and heavy duty equipment and fire truck maintenance careers and discussed how students can get started with government careers.
- Rueben Barrajas, CAL FIRE, San Benito-Monterey; spoke of his career at CAL-FIRE, maintaining fire trucks and heavy duty trucks and equipment.
- Hunter Suddath, Service Manager, Cypress Coast Subaru. Hunter comes from an auto tech family; his father was an automotive technician and taught Hunter many of the auto fundamentals before Hunter started his own career. Hunter spoke of the broad career opportunities in the auto industry and the increasing technological aspects of these careers. He also spoke of his career experiences as a Service Writer and his 8 years as a Service Manager.
- Kevin Donohue, Owner, Pacific Motor Service; Kevin discussed his automotive career and his decision to run an independent garage
- Isaac Flanders, Tesla Seaside/Monterey (Auto manufacturer) Ike, an Alumni of MPC (Graduated 2017) spoke about opportunities at the local Tesla dealership. He also went into detail about Internships and the broader career opportunities that an auto manufacturer like Tesla offers young people. Tesla brought four service technicians and an X car for the event.
- Hap Plain from Victory Dealership, Service Manager at their Toyota. (Auto Dealership) Hap also brought Joe Homen, VP or Operations and Nick Luciano (HR) who were also available to students and parents
- Kamren Lowery, General Sales Manager, Seaside Auto Group (Auto Dealership). Kamren discussed how he was out-of-work and living out of his care when he started his automotive career and how he rose through the ranks at Alfa Romero, Maserati, and Chrysler and now runs the entire sales operation for Seaside.
: Hunter Suddath, Cypress Coast Subaru’s Service Manager, poses with students and the Winners’ trophies
The Career Panel also serves to deepen Monterey Peninsula College’s partnerships with local employers.
After the Career Panel, two of the employers were interested in offering internship and job opportunities to MPC students and were also considering participation in other events for high school students. A new relationship with Mercedes Benz also developed and their new General Manager wants develop a career pathway with MPC students. The event also creates broader visibility for the college in the local community. Other industry sponsors of the event included: Monterey Touring Vehicles, NAPA Auto Parts of Monterey, Pacific Motor Sales and Snap-On Tools.
