Automotive Career Education Day 2000

Automotive Technology department chair
Chris Bannister speaks of the benefits of alternative fuels

New England Tech's 2nd annual Automotive Career Education Day, held on October 25, allowed high school students the opportunity to tour the Access Road campus, and attend workshops and demonstrations about the Automotive and Auto Body Technology programs. New England Tech received a proclamation from the Governor's office for its participation in this nationwide effort to increase the awareness of careers in automotive education.
The nearly 500 students who attended represented twenty-two high schools from around New England. Schools came from as far away as Bassick High School in Bridgeport,

Connecticut to participate in the program.
      As busloads of students arrived, groups were directed to the Automotive building for workshops entitled Automotive Careers and the Internet, Emission Testing, Transmissions, and Keep It Green - Alternative Transportation Fuels. Each workshop provided a ten-minute overview of different aspects of the Automotive Technology program.
      Following the Automotive presentations, students were directed to the Auto Body building for a series of demonstrations by New England Tech students. These included demonstrations of paint application in the paint booth and use of the Continental frame machine.
      Tour groups were then offered the opportunity to view both the National Hot Rod Association video "Careers at the Starting Line" and the Automotive Career Education Day National Video. Each school that visited was given a copy of the Automotive Career Education Day video for future use.
      In addition to the guided program, students were able to view classic cars owned by New England Tech faculty members, as well as a mini-cup car and pace truck from Seekonk Speedway. Staff members

from Seekonk Speedway were available to speak to students about career opportunities at the racetrack.
Students and their teachers were asked to complete evaluation forms and express their opinions about the day. Students were most interested in the number of career opportunities available in both Automotive and Auto Body. High school teachers spoke highly of both the facility and the New England Tech faculty. When asked what could be done to improve the program for next year, both students and teachers asked for a longer tour and more to do.

Automotive instructor Arthur Testa
addresses a group of students.