The field of study I am choosing to excel in is Auto Collision Repair. During high school my junior year I had the opportunity to be a part of a trade school called Kent Career Technical Center (KCTC). I made a mistake in choosing Auto Collision Repair instead of Auto Tech and I had no other option but to take the class because the one i wanted originally was already full.
Thankfully someone was looking out for me because after the first couple weeks I loved it. It was so great for me i chose to continue it my senior year and have learned so much. It is definitely a sustainable trade to have and to be able to learn the ins and outs of this career has been fulfilling.
My passion for this trade came pretty quick into my junior year. Our instructor gave us an assignment to "repair a fender." It had dings and dents and cut marks in it. The end product to the assignment was that I had to present this fender as if it had never been damaged. Though this sounds straightforward I was able to go through the process step by step using tools like a body hammer and a dolly. Next we used products like bondo to fill in the finer abrasions and sanded it smooth. Lastly we laid the three step paint process and buffed it to shine. Once the paint was laid on the fender I was hooked. Being able to work with my hands and see a project from start to finish has been one of the best accomplishments through this training.
Looking long-term on my career choice was the other decision i had to make. Is this something I will want to do for the rest of my life? Can i continue to learn new skills in this trade long after graduation? Those two questions for me were the crossroads of where I should go in my life. The answer to both questions are a definite yes. Trades are dying off to accommodate technology. This path that I am choosing will be able to incorporate old school and new tech. No matter where I go I will have this trade under my belt. The longer I pursue it the more knowledge I gain.
I am planning on attending Lincoln College of Technology starting in July of 2025 where after I complete the course and graduate I will have my associates degree. From there I can only go up. Thank You for taking the time to consider my application. I know this career will be rewarding for me.
Israel Welch
School of Missionary Aviation TechnologyHoward City, MI
I remember being young and looking up into the sky. I remember loving the thought of flying but never really knowing what exactly I wanted to do with that love. Then, when I was 13 years old, I saw a friend go to the mission field serving in the area of plane mechanics. When I saw him follow his dream, I thought, “That’s what I want to do!” Ever since then, I have been pursuing that goal.
In the year of 2023, I had the amazing opportunity to go to Alaska and shadow the same plane mechanic that piqued my interest in mission aviation. It was a really good trip! I had the chance to work alongside my friend and discover the enjoyment I received from this career option as well as what it meant to me doing it in a serving capacity.
I’ve always liked the thought of smaller airplanes as well as the idea of working on them. My passion is planes and helping people! My plan is to be able to do both by becoming a missionary pilot/mechanic. My hope is that I can go out of the United States to serve in this way.
From what I have seen, planes are very important in the mission field due to the fact that they can get to so many more places than boats or cars. I want to go into this field so I can serve the Lord to the best of my abilities in an area where I can tell it would be a very big help.
My first priority in moving forward is getting my AMT license. After that, I would like to get at least a PPL and then possibly a CPL, depending on what's needed the most. I have chosen to get my AMT first so that I can get a job right away to be able to make money to continue my plan to acquire my PPL next.
I’m getting ready to go to the School of Missionary Aviation Technology or otherwise known as SMAT. A common question I have come across is, “Where do you see yourself in five or ten years?” My answer to that is, “I see myself in five years off in a different country working on and flying planes, transporting supplies to people that can’t get them very easily.” I know that is kind of a broad answer, that is because there are things I need to figure out as I go along. However, I have a basic structure of what I want to do.
Another good reason I see for pursuing this field is, there is so much opportunity! Pilots and mechanics are in high demand pretty much everywhere you go! I hear so much about how there aren’t very many people who want to go to work. That isn’t me! I have found a lot of purpose in why I want to go into aviation. I have a drive to work hard to make that happen. I don’t have much of a history in aviation. It doesn't run in my family. I will be a first generation aviator.
The field of study I am choosing to pursue is Automotive/ Heavy Medium Diesel Technology also known as Diesel Mechanics at the University of Northwestern Ohio. Afterward, I will be taking their High-Performance Technology courses as well. I have always had a passion for all things automotive from a young age. When I was younger it was mostly street vehicles and high-performance cars such as NHRA and other similar organizations. My interest in diesel didn't start until I was exposed to and around them. This was a truck-pulling event I was invited to by a friend of mine, that already had knowledge of them. Due to attending this event, I gained an interest in the field of diesel. I am passionate about Diesel Mechanics because it is a topic that is a mystery to me. I don't know very much about diesel-powered engines in general nor how they work. I only truly know a few things about them. This includes the use of glow plugs in place of your typical spark plug like you would on a gasoline engine. Along with this you also use different fuels, colored cans, and use of multiple batteries instead of just one. With this being said my lack of knowledge only makes me want to learn about it more. In addition to my willingness to learn the idea of being able to work on something that is bigger in comparison to myself. Diesel engines can be absolutely enormous almost four times the size of a human being, especially with the big truck engines. I find it almost captivating to get to have the opportunity to work on something so large in scale. Being able to begin my career in the diesel field would absolutely be a jump start into future success and countless hours of hard work. This is the critical first of the many stepping stones needed to have a successful career. Along with having a successful career, I would have the opportunity to have an extremely fulfilling work life. This field is not very common for young people to be entering into and is essentially a dying field. In correlation to the lack of people entering, these people are very few and far between will be women making representation in this field even less. However, due to this, the opportunities will be more abundant, and more options along with multiple different pathways for work.
