For a long time I did not have the right words for what I was experiencing. I knew school felt harder than it should. I knew I struggled to stay present in environments that required me to sit still and absorb information quietly. I knew there were stretches where everything felt heavier than I could explain. What I did not know was that ADHD, anxiety and depression were all part of the same picture and that until I understood that picture I was going to keep feeling like something was wrong with me rather than just different about me. That shift in understanding changed everything. Managing ADHD without medications that made me feel unlike myself meant I had to get creative about how I functioned. I leaned into movement, into hands-on work, into schedules packed enough to keep my mind engaged. I found that when my hands were busy and the problem in front of me was real and tangible everything else quieted down. That is what led me to automotive work. What started as helping my cousin in his driveway became a revelation, not just that I loved the trade but that I had finally found an environment where my brain worked with me instead of against me. My journey with mental health did not just shape my goals it led me directly to them. It also shaped the way I see the people around me. Growing up my family faced anxiety depression self harm and trauma and what I watched was not people falling apart I watched people doing the slow difficult work of healing in their own ways and on their own timelines. My sibling took a year between high school and college to rest. My stepfather continues trauma therapy. My mother has returned to therapy at different points in her life as different seasons required it. None of their paths looked the same and none of them were wrong. That taught me early that there is no correct way to heal and no timeline you are supposed to be on. Everyone is carrying something and most of the time you cannot see it from the outside. That understanding lives in how I move through relationships. I try to be someone people feel safe around not because I have the right things to say but because I have learned to make room. I do not rush people toward okay. I have needed that patience from others and I try to return it. In my friendships and in my role as a stage manager leading a crew I pay attention to when someone is off and I try to check in without pressure. My aspirations have been shaped by this too in ways I did not expect. I want a career that keeps me grounded and engaged — one where I am solving real problems with my hands every day. I want to be someone my community can rely on both in the shop and outside of it. And I want to keep doing the work of understanding myself because I know now that is not a one time project it is a lifelong one. Mental health used to feel like the thing that was holding me back. Now I see it as the thing that pointed me forward.

Mental health is important to me because I have seen what happens when it is taken seriously and what happens when it is not. Growing up in my family mental health was never a distant concept it was something we lived with and worked through together. My family has faced anxiety depression and self harm and what I watched through all of it was not weakness I watched people doing the hard work of figuring out how to heal. That shaped me more than almost anything else in my life. What I learned early is that healing does not look the same for everyone. My sibling took a year between high school and college just to rest and mentally prepare for the next chapter and that time was not wasted it was necessary. My stepfather continues on a path of trauma therapy working through things that take time and courage. My mother has navigated postpartum depression and has returned to therapy at different points in her life as different seasons have called for it. Watching all of this taught me that mental health is not a problem you solve once it is something you tend to throughout your life and that there is no single right way to do it. What matters is that you find what works for you and that the people around you give you the space to do that. I have needed that space myself. I have navigated anxiety and depression alongside my ADHD and there have been times when things felt heavier than I knew how to carry. Finding my way through that, without medications that made me feel unlike myself, and instead through staying active, keeping my hands busy, finding work that genuinely engages my mind, was not a straight line. But I got there and I am better for having had to figure it out. Because of all of this I try to be that kind of space for the people around me. In my friend group I am often the one people come to when they are struggling and I take that seriously. I try not to tell people how they should feel or rush them toward being okay. I try to listen and let them take up room without judgment. I know from my own life and from watching my family that sometimes the most important thing someone can do for another person is simply not make them feel like a burden. At school I try to model the same thing. As a stage manager I work closely with a crew under pressure and I have learned to pay attention to when someone is off. Not to push or pry but to check in and mean it. Mental health struggles do not announce themselves and sometimes the most valuable thing a leader can do is notice. I do not think advocating for mental health has to mean organizing campaigns or giving speeches. Sometimes it means being the kind of person who creates safety for others just by how you treat them. It means normalizing the conversation by being willing to have it. It means showing up for people without conditions. My family taught me that everyone is carrying something. I try never to forget that.

My passion for the automotive industry did not start in a classroom it started in a driveway. My cousin began letting me help him work on his Subaru and what started as small tasks quickly became something I could not stop thinking about. I loved the problem solving, the process of figuring out what was wrong and working through it until it was right. Most of all I loved that the work was real and tangible and that when you did it right you could feel it. That experience lit something in me that has not gone out since. What I did not fully understand then was why that feeling hit so differently than anything I had experienced in a classroom. The answer is something I had been navigating my whole life, ADHD. School was always harder for me than my grades suggest not because I could not do the work but because a traditional academic environment was never built for the way my brain works. I need to be moving thinking doing. I tried medications that were supposed to help but they made me feel like a version of myself I did not recognize so I chose to manage without them and find other ways to stay focused and grounded. That decision led me to lean hard into hands-on living. Working on cars running a stage crew playing in multiple ensembles keeping a schedule that never stops. These things are not just activities they are how I function best. And once I found the automotive field I realized the way my brain works is not a disadvantage in a shop it is an asset. Diagnosing a problem on a vehicle rewards exactly the kind of active curious persistent thinking that struggled to fit inside a classroom. That one afternoon in my cousin's driveway set off a chain reaction. It led me to Cascadia Technical Academy's Automotive program where I spent two years discovering that this was exactly where I belonged. It led me to an internship at a local Subaru dealership that confirmed the career I want. And it led me to Mount Hood Community College where I will continue through the SubaruU program working toward becoming a master technician. I have a 3.8 GPA not because school came easily but because I refused to let my challenges set my ceiling. Finding this path changed things for me in a real way. I am not someone who stumbled into the trades I am someone who needed them and was lucky enough to find them early. That afternoon in the driveway did not just show me what I wanted to do. It showed me who I am.

My path to the automotive field started in my cousin's driveway. He began letting me help him work on his Subaru and what started as small tasks became something I could not stop thinking about. I loved figuring out what was wrong and working through it until it was right. I loved that the work was real and that you could feel when you did it correctly. That experience showed me for the first time what it felt like to be fully engaged and I chased that feeling straight into Cascadia Technical Academy's Automotive program where I have spent the last two years building toward a career I am genuinely passionate about. What I did not fully understand at the time was why that feeling in the driveway hit so differently than anything I had experienced in a traditional classroom. The answer is something I have had to navigate my whole life, ADHD. School was always harder for me than my grades might suggest. Not because I could not do the work but because a standard academic environment was never built for the way my brain works. I need to be moving, thinking, doing. Sitting still and absorbing information passively is genuinely difficult for me and for a long time I did not have the words for why. Finding the right path forward was not simple either. It took longer for me to get my diagnosis and then I tried medications that were supposed to help but they made me feel like a version of myself I did not recognize. I made the decision to manage without them and that meant finding other ways to keep my mind engaged and my anxiety in check. That is where my hands-on life became more than just something I enjoyed, it became something I needed. Working on cars, running a stage crew, playing in multiple ensembles, keeping a schedule that never stops moving. These things are not just activities they are how I stay grounded and focused. When my hands are busy and my mind has a real problem to solve everything clicks into place. Finding the automotive field did not just give me a career goal it gave me an environment where the way I think is actually an asset. Diagnosing a problem on a vehicle rewards exactly the kind of active curious persistent thinking that struggled to fit inside a classroom. I stop looking for what is wrong and I do not let go until I find it. That is not a study habit it is just how my brain works and in a shop it works in my favor. I have a 3.8 GPA not because school came easily but because I was determined not to let my challenges define my ceiling. I restructured my schedule this year to stay in the Automotive program while managing Orchestra, Concert Band, Jazz Band, and my role as stage manager for Theatre. I take a zero period class and stay late for rehearsals. I do it all because I finally found a direction that makes sense for who I am and I am not going to waste that. I am doing well now. Finding this path made a real difference and I am proud of how I got here. I do not see my ADHD as something that held me back anymore. I see it as part of what drove me to find work that actually fits me and I think it will make me a better technician because of it.

1. Which trade are you going to pursue after graduation? Automotive — specifically as a Subaru technician working toward becoming a master tech. 2. Why are you interested in this particular trade? It started with my cousin letting me help him work on his Subaru. What began as small tasks turned into a real passion. I love the problem solving, I love that there is always more to learn and I love that the work is hands-on and tangible. When you figure out what is wrong and fix it right you can feel it. That feeling is what keeps me coming back. The connection to Subaru specifically is also personal, my family has driven them my whole life and my cousin and I learned together on his. It was never just a car it was where my love for this work started. 3. Give some specific examples of things you currently do or have recently done that require thinking outside the box, creativity and problem solving. In the Automotive program at Cascadia Technical Academy I have spent two years diagnosing and working through real mechanical problems, not just reading about them. During my internship at a local Subaru dealership I worked alongside technicians on actual customer vehicles which required careful thinking and precision, there is no room to guess when the job affects someone's safety. Outside the shop I have found that my role as stage manager for my school's theatre program uses the same part of my brain. Every production has something go wrong and it is usually last minute. I have to assess the situation quickly figure out a solution and communicate it clearly to my crew so we can keep moving. It is creative problem solving under pressure and it has sharpened skills I use everywhere including in the shop. Managing my schedule this year has also required creative thinking. I restructured my entire school day, taking an early zero period online class, so I could stay enrolled in the second year Automotive program while also keeping up with Orchestra, Concert Band, Jazz Band, and Theatre. It took planning and flexibility to make it all work but I was not willing to give any of it up. 4. What is your plan and how far along are you? I am already well into it. I completed two years of the Automotive program at Cascadia Technical Academy through my high school district and finished an internship at a local Subaru dealership during my second year. I have researched my next steps thoroughly and I am enrolled at Mount Hood Community College in the SubaruU program which combines classroom instruction with hands-on shop time. I am actively looking for work at a shop or dealership to run alongside my coursework. My long term goal is to become a master technician at a Subaru dealership and every step I have taken has been intentional toward that goal. 5. If someone called an adult in your life who knows you well, why would they recommend you? They would say that I follow through. I do not just talk about things I care about I show up for them. This year alone I rearranged my entire schedule to stay in the Automotive program while keeping every other commitment I had made. They would also say I am someone who takes responsibility seriously, as a stage manager I am the person my crew counts on when things go wrong and I do not shy away from that. I bring the same dependability into the shop. I grew up watching my parents work six days a week without complaint and that example shaped who I am. Anyone who knows me well would tell you that hard work and follow through are not things I have to be reminded of, they are just how I operate.

My passion for the automotive industry did not start in a classroom it started in a driveway. My cousin began letting me help him work on his Subaru and what started as small tasks quickly became something I could not stop thinking about. I loved the problem solving, the process of figuring out what was wrong and working through it until it was right. I loved that there was always something new to learn. Most of all I loved that the work was real and tangible and that when you did it right you could feel it. That experience lit something in me that has not gone out since. That passion led me to Cascadia Technical Academy where I joined the Automotive program and spent two years deepening my knowledge and my love for the trade. I completed an internship at a local Subaru dealership where I got to see the career up close and left more motivated than when I arrived. I will be continuing my education at Mount Hood Community College through the SubaruU program where I will train in both the classroom and the shop while working toward becoming a master technician. This is not a career I fell into it is one I have been actively building toward and I am just getting started. As for what I bring to the field I think it goes beyond technical knowledge though I am committed to building that every day. I bring focus and follow through. As the stage manager for my school's theatre program I am responsible for coordinating an entire crew through high pressure situations where timing and communication are everything and the margin for error is small. That experience taught me how to stay calm when things go sideways how to make decisions quickly and how to make sure every person on the team knows what they are doing. Those skills translate directly into a shop environment where safety and precision depend on exactly that kind of coordination. I also bring consistency. This past year I restructured my entire schedule to stay enrolled in the second year Automotive program while keeping up with Orchestra, Concert Band, Jazz Band, and my role as stage manager. I take an early zero period class and stay late for rehearsals. I do it because I made commitments and I honor them. That is the same attitude I bring into the shop, show up do the work do it right and never cut corners. I am also bilingual which I believe adds real value in a field where clear communication with every customer and colleague matters. And I grew up watching my parents work six days a week to care for our family. Hard work is not something I had to learn it is something I was raised in. I am passionate about this industry because it challenges me every single day and rewards people who are curious careful and committed. I am all three. I want to spend my career growing as a technician learning as the industry evolves and doing work I am genuinely proud of. That drive does not come from a resume it comes from who I am.

My passion for the automotive industry did not start in a classroom it started in a driveway. My cousin began letting me help him work on his Subaru and what started as small tasks quickly became something I could not stop thinking about. I loved the problem solving, the process of figuring out what was wrong and working through it until it was right. I loved that there was always something new to learn. Most of all I loved that the work was real and tangible and that when you did it right you could feel it. That experience lit something in me that has not gone out since. That passion led me to Cascadia Technical Academy where I joined the Automotive program and spent two years deepening my knowledge and my love for the trade. I completed an internship at a local Subaru dealership where I got to see the career up close and left more motivated than when I arrived. I will be continuing my education at Mount Hood Community College through the SubaruU program where I will train in both the classroom and the shop while working toward becoming a master technician. This is not a career I fell into it is one I have been actively building toward and I am just getting started. As for what I bring to the field I think it goes beyond technical knowledge though I am committed to building that every day. I bring focus and follow through. As the stage manager for my school's theatre program I am responsible for coordinating an entire crew through high pressure situations where timing and communication are everything and the margin for error is small. That experience taught me how to stay calm when things go sideways how to make decisions quickly and how to make sure every person on the team knows what they are doing. Those skills translate directly into a shop environment where safety and precision depend on exactly that kind of coordination. I also bring consistency. This past year I restructured my entire schedule to stay enrolled in the second year Automotive program while keeping up with Orchestra, Concert Band, Jazz Band, and my role as stage manager. I take an early zero period class and stay late for rehearsals. I do it because I made commitments and I honor them. That is the same attitude I bring into the shop, show up do the work do it right and never cut corners. I am also bilingual which I believe adds real value in a field where clear communication with every customer and colleague matters. And I grew up watching my parents work six days a week to care for our family. Hard work is not something I had to learn it is something I was raised in. I am passionate about this industry because it challenges me every single day and rewards people who are curious careful and committed. I am all three. I want to spend my career growing as a technician learning as the industry evolves and doing work I am genuinely proud of. That drive does not come from a resume it comes from who I am.

My name is Tahlia Lujan and I am a bilingual, hands-on learner who has spent the last two years building toward a career in the automotive industry. Ever since I was young I knew I was someone who needed to work with my hands. I never found my passion sitting at a desk and for a long time I was not sure where that would take me. Then my cousin started letting me help him work on his Subaru and everything changed. What started as small tasks here and there turned into something I could not stop thinking about. I loved figuring out what was wrong and learning how to fix it. I loved that there was always more to learn. That curiosity became a passion and that passion became a plan. That plan led me to Cascadia Technical Academy where I walked into the Automotive program on a tour and knew immediately this was where I was supposed to be. I went straight to the counselors that same day and signed up. Two years later I still feel that same excitement walking into the shop. Every day there is something new to learn and I have not once questioned whether this is the right path for me. My career goal is to become a master technician at a Subaru dealership. That might sound specific but for me it is personal. My family has driven Subarus my whole life and my cousin and I learned together on his. There is a connection there that goes beyond brand loyalty it is where my love for this work actually started. During my second year at Cascadia I completed an internship at a local Subaru dealership and that experience confirmed everything. I got to see what the career really looks like day to day and I left more motivated than when I arrived. The technicians I worked alongside were skilled and precise and took real pride in their work. I want to be that person. To get there I will be attending Mount Hood Community College through the SubaruU program. This program gives me time in both the classroom and the shop so I can keep building my technical knowledge while also gaining real world experience. I plan to work at a shop or dealership at the same time so I am never just learning in theory but always putting it into practice. I believe the best technicians never stop being students and I intend to carry that mindset throughout my entire career. Automotive technology is also a field that is constantly evolving. Electric vehicles and new diagnostic systems are changing what it means to be a mechanic and I find that exciting rather than intimidating. I want to grow with the industry and stay ahead of it. The technicians who will thrive are the ones who are adaptable and curious and committed to doing the work right and that is exactly who I am working to become. I am not chasing this career because it is practical although it is. I am chasing it because I genuinely love it. I love the problem solving, the precision, the feeling of figuring something out and knowing you did it right. My cousin gave me my first look under the hood and I have never looked back. This is not just what I want to do it is who I am.

In school I have always been someone who thrives in a hands-on environment rather than a traditional academic one. While I did well in school I never had a deep passion for it and the idea of an office job or an academic career never felt right for me. For a while I wasn't sure what path was mine to take. That changed when my cousin started letting me help him work on his car. Just little things at first but I quickly found something I hadn't expected, a real passion. I loved learning how cars work, figuring out what causes a problem and how to fix it. That curiosity led me to Cascadia Technical Academy where I toured the Automotive program and knew immediately that was where I belonged. I went straight to the counselors that same day and signed up, more excited than I had been about anything in a long time. Two years into the program I still love it and am learning something new every day. In my second year I completed an internship at a local Subaru dealership which felt like the perfect fit. My cousin and I had worked on his Subaru together for years and my family has always driven them so being in that shop felt familiar and right. That internship showed me what a real career in this industry looks like and confirmed that this is exactly where I want to be. To continue building toward that career I will be attending Mount Hood Community College through the SubaruU program where I will have time both in the shop and in the classroom. I also plan to seek work at a shop or dealership alongside my studies. This scholarship will help in getting me started with required supplies and books. My goal is to become a master technician at Subaru and I believe the path I am on will get me there. I will keep growing, keep learning and keep doing work I genuinely love. To me those are two of the most important things a person can bring to their career.

My name is Tahlia Lujan and I am a hands-on learner building toward a career in the automotive industry. I attended Cascadia Technical Academy's Automotive program through my high school district and completed an internship at a local Subaru dealership. I will be attending Mount Hood Community College through the SubaruU program working toward becoming a master technician. One of the clearest examples of leadership in my life does not come from a shop it comes from behind the curtain. As the stage manager for my school's theatre program I coordinate every moving part of a production that the audience never sees. Before one of our performances we were running behind on a complicated set change and the crew was losing focus. People were stepping on each other's tasks communication had broken down and we were running out of time. I made the call to stop everything gather the crew and reassign responsibilities clearly so everyone knew exactly what they were doing and who was counting on them. It worked and the show ran on time but I will be honest it was not perfect. In the rush I missed communicating the changes to one crew member and they were left scrambling. What I took from that is simple, a decision that does not reach everyone is an incomplete decision. Since then closing the loop with every person on the team has been a priority for me. A shop is a team just like a stage crew. When someone is working under a vehicle or handling a system that affects safety there is no room for miscommunication. You have to be clear accountable and look out for the people working alongside you. Those are values I learned in the theatre and will bring into every shop I work in. Leadership to me is not about being in charge it is about making sure the job gets done right and that everyone around you can do their best work. That is the kind of teammate and technician I am committed to being.

Ever since I was young, I knew I was someone who needed to work with my hands. I never found my passion sitting at a desk and for a long time I was not sure where that would take me. Then my cousin started letting me help him work on his Subaru and everything changed. What started as small tasks here and there turned into something I could not stop thinking about. I loved figuring out what was wrong and learning how to fix it. I loved that there was always more to learn. That curiosity became a passion and that passion became a plan. That plan led me to Cascadia Technical Academy where I walked into the Automotive program on a tour and knew immediately this was where I was supposed to be. I went straight to the counselors that same day and signed up. Two years later I still feel that same excitement walking into the shop. Every day there is something new to learn and I have not once questioned whether this is the right path for me. My career goal is to become a master technician at a Subaru dealership. That might sound specific but for me it is personal. My family has driven Subarus my whole life and my cousin and I learned together on his. There is a connection there that goes beyond brand loyalty it is where my love for this work actually started. During my second year at Cascadia, I completed an internship at a local Subaru dealership and that experience confirmed everything. I got to see what the career really looks like day to day, and I left more motivated than when I arrived. The technicians I worked alongside were skilled and precise and took real pride in their work. I want to be that person. To get there I will be attending Mount Hood Community College through the SubaruU program. This program gives me time in both the classroom and the shop so I can keep building my technical knowledge while also gaining real world experience. I plan to work at a shop or dealership at the same time, so I am never just learning in theory but always putting it into practice. I believe the best technicians never stop being students and I intend to carry that mindset throughout my entire career. Automotive technology is also a field that is constantly evolving. Electric vehicles and new diagnostic systems are changing what it means to be a mechanic, and I find that exciting rather than intimidating. I want to grow with the industry and stay ahead of it. The technicians who will thrive are the ones who are adaptable and curious and committed to doing the work right and that is exactly who I am working to become. I am not chasing this career because it is practical, although it is. I am chasing it because I genuinely love it. I love the problem solving, the precision, the feeling of figuring something out and knowing you did it right. My cousin gave me my first look under the hood, and I have never looked back. This is not just what I want to do it is who I am.

Work ethic to me is not something you talk about it is something you just do. Growing up I watched my parents work six days a week to take care of our family. They never complained about it and they never made it seem like a burden it was just what needed to be done. That example shaped the way I approach everything in my life without me even realizing it until I got older. In high school I have tried to carry that same mindset into everything I take on. This year I restructured my entire schedule so I could stay in the second year Automotive program at Cascadia Technical Academy through my school district while also keeping up with everything else I am involved in. To make it work I take an online class and come in for zero period in the early morning before most students are even awake. After school I stay late for rehearsals because I am the stage manager for Theatre and I also participate in Orchestra, Jazz Band and Band. On top of that I still make it to every performance. It is a full schedule and there are days that are exhausting but I do not think twice about it because these are things I chose and things I care about. That is what work ethic really means to me. It is not about doing the bare minimum to get by it is about honoring your commitments even when it is inconvenient. As a stage manager I am responsible for making sure everything behind the scenes runs smoothly so the people on stage can do their best. No one in the audience sees that work and that is kind of the point. You do it because it needs to be done and because the people counting on you deserve your best effort. I bring that same attitude into the shop. Automotive work is not forgiving if you cut corners or rush through something it shows up later and usually at the worst possible time. I want to be the kind of technician who takes pride in doing the job right the first time every time. I learned in my internship at a Subaru dealership that the best techs are not just the most skilled they are the most consistent and the most reliable. That is the kind of professional I am working toward becoming. Work ethic is not a strategy for me it is just how I was raised and how I have chosen to live. I have seen what it looks like to show up day after day and give your best and I believe that is the foundation everything else is built on.