Old Colony Archives
Voc-Tech students team up for repair competition
By Tyra Pacheco, Standard-Times correspondent
From the New Bedford Standard-Times
May 4, 2005
ROCHESTER -- Two local students are gearing up to compete in the Automotive Technology Competition in Attleboro this weekend.
High school seniors Gordon Boardman of Acushnet and Stanley Tomkiewicz of East Freetown will team up against students from around the state and display their automotive repair skills.
The Automotive Technology Competition is co-sponsored by AAA and Ford Motor Co. Open to students in Grades 11 and 12, the contest encourages students to pursue careers in the automotive technology field.
The nationwide competition begins with a written exam for top students in high school automotive technology programs. The top two scoring students at each school will compete together as a team in a statewide hands-on competition.
During this final round, each of the 10 teams will have a new Ford vehicle to diagnose. Each vehicle will be bugged with the same malfunction.
"It could be electrical problems, fuel problems, trouble code problems," said Don Mosher, technical automotive instructor at Old Colony Regional Vocational High School.
"Something that they are expected to see at a normal dealership, a normal repair problem, that's what they try to find."
The teams will be judged on the speed and accuracy of their diagnosis and repairs. The winning team and their instructor will travel to Washington, D.C., all expenses paid, to compete at the national level.
Mr. Mosher is confident that his students will do well. "They're two of my top seniors. You can't prepare for this. It's something they've learned over the years, as part of their shop program and their related program."
According to Mr. Mosher, contest participants will receive trophies, tools and even job offers at area Ford dealerships. Ashley Ford in New Bedford loaned Old Colony a 2005 Ford Taurus to help the students prepare for the competition.
"They're getting familiar with the car, where things are located, where the different relays and components are, so they know where to go when they have a problem," Mr. Mosher said. "You can't really practice because you don't know what they put in the car."