Three Edsel Ford High School students already have a head start on a possible career as mechanics having earned several ASE certifications this school year.
Salman Ahmad, a senior, received six of the certifications, junior Amir Alkhatib received eight, and sophomore Jeremy Paddock earned all 10 Automotive Service Excellence certifications.
All three students praised teacher Marisa Reno, who is new to teaching this school year.
“I barely knew how to change a tire six months ago, and now look at me – six ASC certifications!” Ahmad said.
Due to his certifications, grade point and other qualifications, Ahmad will receive special career-technical education cords to wear at graduation in June 2023. He said he started in the auto shop classes because his brother enjoyed the class.
“I love it,” he said of his experience.
Alkhatib said taking an auto shop class was a natural fit for him.
“I like working on cars,” Alkhatib said. He also has a job helping at his uncle’s auto shop, but eventually he hopes to go into automotive engineering.
Paddock said he is still too young to be allowed to work in most mechanic shops, but he enjoys the class at school.
“We get to work on a lot of teachers’ cars,” Paddock said as the teens chatted about all the faculty and student cars they have worked on.
Besides learning in the shop, the three students said they enjoyed the field trips the class took to local car dealerships and to the University of Northwestern Ohio.
Ms. Reno said she started working on cars when she was in high school, but left the industry in her early 20s to become a police officer. She was drawn to teaching by the pay, work hours, and safety compared to police work.
She particularly appreciates that schools need to offer students different paths because not all students fit into one academic mold.
“I was one of those students,” she said.