Vincent Gonzalez
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My name is Vincent Gonzalez, I graduated from LT this past summer class of 2021. I always knew that I wanted to be in the automotive industry, but never knew what I wanted to do. I took all the auto classes and engineering and design classes which made me realize I wanted to do Mechanical Engineering. I also really liked to weld. It made me come to a point that I needed to choose a path, accept a Michigan Technology University offer or continue pursuing welding. With the help of Mr. Engelhardt I got an apprenticeship and fully hired as a production welder 3 months in at AMS Performance, where I am currently employed. While at AMS I talked with the engineers and they convinced be to go back to school for Mechanical Engineering. I applied to schools and got accepted already by my top choice. I went into AMS at 17, I am the youngest employee and welder but within a few months already as good as most of the fabricators. Without the classes at LT I would not be where I am right now, it gives you a starting point which very few people have the opportunity. Don’t feel pressured to go to school right away, you can do whatever you put your mind too. Just be 100% confident and it will get done. My name is Ross Bartolomei, after graduation I started working long and hard hours in the used car dealership. I have worked for "Low mile used cars" since June of 2016, during this past July I started working at Custom Cars Unlimited conveniently located in LaGrange. At Custom Cars I work with the team in the assembly area, there I take cars apart and put them back together when they are ready. I also work on the Lathe making parts as needed, thanks to LT for providing myself with the training during high school. Working for a shop like Custom Cars, everything has to be perfect, no matter if you are working on a multi-million dollar Ferrari or a toyota prius that came in for an insurance claim. Custom cars taught me work on the car like it’s your own. “Plans for the future” I plan on attending McPherson college, they are the only school nation wide that you can achieve a bachelor's degree in automotive restoration. My name is Benjamin Breitenbucher and I am an Lyons Township High School Alum. Currently employed by Chicago Vintage Motor Carriage, I am an auto restoration mechanic. At this job, along side of few others, I care for a very precious vintage car collection as well as working on bottom up restorations. The cars I work on range from the 1920’s to 1980’s and are worth millions of dollars. When I first got this job, the people I worked with were astounded with my knowledge and skills on cars with just a high school level education. Thanks to the LTCC program offered at Lyons Township, I have a strong base to start my career on. The knowledge that I have obtained from these classes has helped me to not only work on extremely expensive cars, but also has allowed me to help people with car troubles that would otherwise struggle to afford it. Currently attending University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, I am double majoring in Business Entrepreneurship and Business Management. With these degrees, I plan to open a family run auto restoration shop alongside my brothers. The future is exciting and I can not wait to see what else is to come for me. My names David Phillips, I graduated from L.T. in 2013 and was a big part of the automotive program back before I graduated. After I finished at L.T. I started college at C.O.D. training to be an automotive technician which I stuck with for two years. Part way into my second year I came across a school called McPherson College located in the middle of Kansas, which is the only school in the country with a 4 year program in vintage automobile restoration. After applying I got accepted and am now on my second year restoring concours cars including a 50’s Mercedes expected to win the Pebble Beach Concours Delegance when it’s finished in a number of years. This past summer I was given an incredible opportunity to work alongside the team at Custom Cars Unlimited located only a few blocks from LT. There I learned valuable skills, getting the opportunity to work on some of the most valuable cars in the world including a short wheel base Ferrari valued at over 3 million dollars. I cannot thank LT enough for helping pursue my dreams, certainly no other high school automotive program could have prepared me any better than LT’s. |