North Point’s Automotive Technology Science, Technology, and Industry Program is an ASE certified program taught by Mr. Robert Poore. Students learn how to fix and repair cars. Commonly confused with the Collision Repair STI, the Auto Tech students work with more mechanical things, such as brakes, tires, engines and computer work, while Collision Repair focuses on the structure and body of the cars.
Mr. Poore has worked in this field before as a “master” (in his words) automotive mechanic for 35 years. He’s been teaching this STI ever since the school opened in 2005. “ For students that are interested in Auto Tech, you have to love cars, have a strong interest in it and also have to have a passion for it” says Mr. Poore. In this three year program, students can earn six credits for their post high school education.
When students graduate they automatically receive a certificate of completion in breaks, steering, suspension, and electrical. Also, if students do engine repair it can help them to get a job in that particular field. “I applied for Auto Tech because I’ve been around cars my whole life. My dad has worked at car dealerships since before I was born so cars sparked my interest at an early age,” said Melissa Rinaldi (’13). A lot of teamwork is used when it comes to working in lab. However, there are sometimes individual projects that test the students on their knowledge about what they have learned. “I enjoy working in the lab and getting my hands dirty, instead of always being in a classroom environment. It really gets deep into cars in learning how to fix them and even build your own car. I learn something new every day that I didn’t know at first,” Markell Young (’13) said.
Automotive Technology isn’t just an STI program; it is also a business where customers are able to drop their cars off for repair. Mr. Poore is not only getting ready to teach his students in the morning, but he also has to run the business at the same time. That consists of ordering tools, making the bills for customers, and scheduling work. Cars are often donated by the community and even by teachers here at North Point, and the students work on these cars as part of their course requirements. “This is what I want to do for a living and this program has taught me a lot about what I need to know about a car,” said Colton Perry (’13).