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Subhead: The struggle of losing a teacher in the middle of the year almost puts the brakes on auto shop class. In order to get back into their normal routine, they must shift gears.

 

Story: Cars hanging from the ceiling, loud noises, sparks flying. The auto shop class was its own world. A mysterious vibe filled the remote and isolated hallway that led to the class. 

 

In the garage, future mechanics went to work. 

 

Starting fresh, the students had to reorganize their class when they got a new teacher, Steve Cozart. He had been a teacher’s assistant at Davison for two-and-a-half years. As he taught the class, they also had a few rules for him to follow.

 

“We both teach each other a lot. [we taught him] how the shop is run,” senior Jeffrey Kalbfleisch said.

 

Cozart was seen as open-minded when it came to giving the students a chance to express themselves in the classroom. New positivity started to build once they met their new teacher.

 

“Honestly, I think he is a better teacher for the program,” junior Dylan Fournier Baughman said. “There's more opportunity in the auto shop now.”

 

Doing a burnout on a Camaro and fixing a radiator were a small part of the difficulties of this class. Projects like these inspired some students to look into a future occupation for engineering.

 

“I want to open my own garage and work on peoples cars,” Baughman said.

 

For junior Kameron Webster, the class was more than an opportunity to figure out his career. For the first few weeks, the students sat and watched movies until classmates took action to start working.

 

“I’ve wanted to take it since freshman year, but I wasn’t allowed to,” he said. “But by taking [auto tech],  I think I have become a good leader.”

 

The class tackled projects that other elective classes would never think to do. Teachers school-wide brought in their cars to be fixed by the students. According to the students Cozard made sure that the class had the best experience in the class.

 

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