Pine-Richland senior wins auto skills competition

Mark Wolfe doesn’t remember exactly when he began thinking about studying to become an auto repair tech.

But every now and then his parents Mark Sr. and Bonnie pull out a snapshot of the Pine-Richland senior as a toddler with his Power Wheel riding toy up on jack stands ready for repairs.

“My dad always had some sort of car in the garage that we worked on, so I guess I grew up around it,” said Wolfe, 18, of Pine, who splits class time in the automotive technician program at the A.W. Beattie Career Center. “Ever since I can remember I’ve wanted to learn more about how cars work.”

Wolfe’s thirst for understanding a vehicle’s complex systems — and how to fix them when things go awry —paid off in December when he won an $11,000 scholarship and a set of Snap-on brand professional tools from the automotive skills competition at the Community College of Allegheny County’s Automotive Technology Center in Oakdale.

Assurances that Wolfe’s knack for diagnosing and repairing automotive problems under pressure was no fluke came a month later when he took home a Silver Award in the SkillsUSA competition.

Wolfe said he plans to use the money after graduation to pay for additional training and certification in CCAC’s automotive technology program.

Excellence under pressure

Even a seemingly simple task can change when the pressure of completing it in set time becomes part of the equation.

But Wolfe said the pressure didn’t even enter his mind when he competed.

“My confidence level going into the competition was high because I felt like I know what I’m doing, so it seemed pretty easy,” he said.

Wolfe won the Silver at the SkillsUSA competition with a score of 178 out of 180 on the written portion and completing all the hands-on work before time expired.

He called the competition at CCAC “the big boy” event where contestants compete for cash awards.

“Fifty people start out by taking a long written test and the ones with the top 20 scores move on to the hands on portion,” said Wolfe, who go the second highest score on the exam.

Diagnostic and repair skills are tested at six work stations that include systems such as electrical and brakes, with 10 minutes allotted for each task.

Wolfe said the only panic he experienced was when he realized that equipment issued to him to complete the portion of the competition in which pressure testing equipment is used didn’t work.

“I was halfway through before I realized the equipment wasn’t working and was able to get somebody’s attention to let them know,” Wolfe said. “They moved me to a new station but didn’t reset the clock for me. It didn’t matter, I was done in three minutes.”

Wolfe thinks he fared well in the competitions because he is enthusiastic about all aspects of the automotive.

While some techs focus on diagnostics and others “spin wrenches” to do the repairs, Wolfe said he “likes it all.”

At another competition last year in Hershey, contestants had to do a complete the equivalent of a state safety inspection on a vehicle and diagnose typical problems a customer might encounter.

“The car I had wouldn’t start and it had a check engine light on,” he said. “They also told me there were some parts missing. I was able to find all the problems and identify the missing parts. I even found something that was wrong that they didn’t even know about. The passenger door handle was broken and would lock when you pulled on it.”

Wolfe said finding potential safety problems on a vehicle is the top priority for auto technicians.

“Working on cars is a lot of fun, but there’s a serious side, too,” he said. “We have to approach inspections as if our mother is going to be taking that car on a trip to Florida and ask: Are you going to let her drive down there in that car?”

Wolfe is getting a chance to use the things he is learning in the real world through a work-study program offered through Beattie.

Beginning the week of April 2, Wolfe is only attending classes one afternoon a week at Beattie, with the remaining time getting on-the-job training at Baierl Chevrolet in Wexford.

Automotive instructor Larry Parks, who has been at Beattie for 26 years, said students who enjoy working with their hands like the challenges of solving complex puzzles and have analytical skills are ideal candidates for a career as an auto tech.

“The ability to think on your own is important in this job and I can’t underscore the value of having strong analytical skills,” he said.

Parks noted that while some might view a auto tech’s job as nothing more than “spinning wrenches,” the work is more computer tech than grease monkey.

“The way cars are made today, almost every part is electronically controlled,” he said. “Cars can have 100 different computers running the systems, so you can’t see the problem you are trying to correct.

“You have to be able to think about how the system works and what would likely be the cause of the problem,” he said.

While the availability of sophisticated scanning tools can help narrow a problem down, it still is the mechanic’s job to pinpoint an issue.

“A mechanic just can’t just start pulling out expensive parts until the problem is solved,” Parks said. “They need to be able to assemble the pieces of a puzzle in their mind to make sure they are making the best repair possible.”

Parks said the financial rewards from working in the field are something worth considering.

“Someone coming out of college might end up owing $100,000 before they can land a job,” he said. “Within three years of high school graduation someone who wants to do this job can easily be making six figures instead of owing that much.”

The foundations for success

While Wolfe doesn’t recall a time in his life when he wasn’t working on cars, the decision to make a career out of it didn’t come until he was a freshman.

“Owning his own auto repair show is something my Dad always wanted to do, but never had the chance to,” Wolfe said. “So when I was thinking about going to Beattie, in the back of my mind was this idea that maybe having my own shop could be something I would like to do.”

Wolfe said while his father never had to coax him into joining him in the garage to work on cars, he gets much of the credit for inspiring him to pursue a career in the field.

“I loved that my Dad and I have been able to take cars that have been trashed and bring them back to life,” he said. ”Most of the ones we’ve done end up being show cars when we were finished.”

One of those projects was a blue 1975 Chevy Malibu Chevelle that Wolfe’s father owned in high school.

“He got rid of it after a short time to buy his buddy’s (Pontiac) Trans Am, but he regretted it,” Wolfe said.

It took nearly eight years for his father to track the Chevelle down in Frederick, Md.

“It sat under a pine tree for years and was just completely shot, the rear end was out of it when he found it,” he said. “We put nearly $40,000 and many, many hours into restoring it. It’s an absolutely beautiful car now.”

While Wolfe and his father “share” the Chevelle, it’s not the teen’s favorite car.

“The first car I ever wanted as a kid was a 1985 IROC Z (Chevy Camaro International Race of Champions edition), which was the first year for that model,” Wolfe said. ”So I was pretty happy when my uncle decided to sell his to me.”