Brian Parker, left, with fellow classmates (clockwise) Dan Martin, Brad Tugan, Dusty Macklin and Jon Garcia.

For the last eight years, cars have done nothing but capture my attention. I have never really excelled in any of my classes except Auto Tech. I took my first auto class during my sophomore year at Smoky Hill High School in Colorado, with Mr. Tony Craven. It was a basic class that filled my mind with the fundamentals as to what's really going on under the hood of my car.

I moved on to Advanced Auto with Mr. Brian Manley my junior year. Mr. Manley, as he is called in class, found a way to take those fundamentals taught in the previous class and reinforce them with the necessary theories to turn me into a weapon of diagnosis. We went into automotive electric, engine performance, brakes and many more areas. As we explored these areas, it made me want to know more. As far as expanding my mind, I had a couple of choices at this point. The two choices I had outside of school were to either join the Automotive Youth Education Systems (AYES) program and apprentice at a dealership, or to be an apprentice at an independent shop. I chose to apprentice at an independent shop.

The first place that I applied was Clay's Texaco, a full-service station. I was hired two days later. Everyone in the station seemed to be amazed at what I knew, still being a high school student and all. I worked at Clay's through the summer and into my senior year. During my senior year I took advantage of some of my opportunities and took Mr. Manley's Auto Specialist class. Mr. Manley took everything I knew and had learned in the shop and managed to find a way to give me more information and knowledge. It was more than I thought I would ever know about anything, and it was all about cars.

I am now 18 and rapidly approaching the end of my senior year. Looking back at the days I spent in the garage with my dad and what I have learned in auto classes in high school, I feel like I know enough to become an entry-level automotive technician, if I wanted to leave the service station behind. I am currently looking at programs to further my education at Universal Technical Institute, Wyoming Technical Institute and Arapahoe Community College - none of which sound as appealing or as informative as Mr. Manley's auto class. I had a lot of fun and have learned a lot in school and in the shop. It has been an unforgettable and irreplaceable experience that will always be with me. There are opportunities that create futures and careers. Mr. Manley's class has offered both, and the least I can say is thanks to him and the people keeping the program in existence.

Editor's note: Brian Parker is looking forward to his graduation and plans to go to Arapahoe Community College. He plans to get an associate degree in automotive technology and pursue a career as a professional technician.

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