High school students aren’t waiting until after graduation to wade into the automotive industry.
Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) chose a handful of schools nationwide to rebuild a 2002 Jeep.
The Hylton High School Automotive Program was among them.
SEMA companies donated various components, including tires and seat covers.
“It’s crazy all the things that just showed up here in a matter of a few weeks and all these manufacturers just gave us,” Hylton High School Automotive Instructor Eddie Stevens told What’s Up Prince William.
Safelite AutoGlass also provided and installed a windshield.
After receiving the Jeep in February, the students took it apart before pressure washing and painting the vehicle.
Several sophomores, juniors and seniors worked on the Jeep, which will be auctioned off. The proceeds will benefit the Hylton High School Automotive Program.
Stevens hopes the students remember the teamwork and trust required to complete the project.
“It’s not just a matter of two people doing a particular task and trusting each other,” he said. “It’s about … a couple people trusting another couple people that they got their portion done, because if they didn’t, then the other people can’t get theirs done.”
The students also needed to use problem solving to address any challenges that arose.
“There were things that didn’t work the way they were supposed to work, there were things that we had to figure out,” Stevens said. “There were directions that came with some of the components that even I couldn’t decipher, and we had to get together and just get our heads together and think about, ‘What are they thinking? … Without calling tech support can we figure this out on our own?’”
The updated Jeep will be revealed to the annual Automotive Technology Banquet.
Members of the public may attend the event, which begins at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at Hylton High School’s cafeteria.
To RSVP, email Stevens at stevenev@pwcs.edu.
