(SWEETWATER, Texas) – With graduation looming for Texas State Technical College Automotive Technology students, two men are already putting their knowledge to work at home.
“I am using what I have learned by working on my girlfriend’s car,” said Keith Guffey, of Lubbock. “I have retained so much during my time in school. I have been on the honor roll each semester while working a full-time management job. I am proud of myself and think I have found my calling.”
Hunter Yearian, of Ballinger, said he helped his father work on cars at a young age. Now he is showing his father what he has learned at TSTC.
“Now I am working on my stuff. It is nice to see my dad think I did not know how to do something, but I can,” he said. “He is proud of what I can do.”
Both students credit TSTC instructor Mike Myers for their success in the program.
“His teaching aspect is great. He teaches us real-life situations and uses his stories to make sure we know what to do,” Guffey said.
Yearian said Myers’ teaching style is perfect for students who do not have knowledge of vehicles, as well as for those who do.
“He shows you how to do things. He asks us to look at the problem and try and figure things out,” he said. “We start looking at it differently and are then able to go in and fix it.”
Both students want to make careers as automobile mechanics.
Guffey said that ever since he was young, he has enjoyed working on vehicles.
“I just started working on my own and fell in love with the trade,” he said. “I want to complete the Dodge Ram program and become a master technician. Eventually I hope to retire and open my own shop.”
Yearian also wants to be a mechanic. He credits touring TSTC while he was in high school with leading him to a career.
“I was able to walk around the lab, and I liked what I saw,” he said of the Sweetwater facility. “I really enjoy the hands-on aspect of the course.”
For more information about TSTC, visit tstc.edu.
