Potter student uses classroom training to jump-start auto technician career plans

Posted On Friday August 12, 2022
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Luke Marshall, a rising senior at the Hamburg Central School District, stands in the service center of Towne Ford in Orchard Park.

Luke Marshall has always seen himself as a tinkerer, whether he was building things with scraps of wood, or helping his father change the tires of his family’s Chevrolet S10 truck when he was seven years old.

That interest led him to the auto technician program at Erie 1 BOCES’ Potter Career and Technical Center, and has now propelled him to a pre-apprentice experience at Towne Automotive.

“I've just kept growing with my tinkering, and now I tinker with big expensive things, instead of things I find in the garage,” Luke said.

Watch WIVB's report about Luke Marshall here

Watch WKBW's report about Luke Marshall here

The timing of students like Luke couldn’t be any better. Local automotive companies say they are looking for the next generation of technicians to help drivers around western New York.  The Erie 1 BOCES program has partnerships for pre-apprenticeships with companies like Basil, NFADA, Northtown Automotive, Towne Automotive and West Herr.

“It's great to see young folks like Luke wanting to get into this business. It's something we need more of, and something we haven't seen as much of lately,” said Jay Lucernoni, service director for Towne Automotive Group.

Lucernoni said that he was seeing a “huge gap” in the number of available skilled technicians and the demands of dealerships and independent repair shops, especially as the technology in vehicles becomes more complex.

“We need the help and we're happy to have it,” he said.

Charles Shevlin, Luke’s instructor at Potter, said first-year students engage a wide range of material, from learning basic work safety, to understanding parts of a vehicle, culminating in student teams breaking down and rebuilding an engine. Luke has already shown leadership potential, Shevlin said, leading a group of four students in class projects.

“Luke is one of those workers who will adapt and keep growing his knowledge,” Shevlin said.

Lucernoni said he first met Luke, a 17-year-old rising senior at the Hamburg Central School District, when he was a part of a winning team at the AutoTech and Tire Changing Rodeo. In his summer work, Luke has been performing maintenance work like tire alignments and rotations along with oil changes.

“He's very enthusiastic,” Lucernoni said. “He's willing to do anything.”

Early into his work, Luke said he enjoyed working with older colleagues and learning from their experience. As he takes on his work, Luke said he took Shevlin’s advice and classroom teachings.

“He tells us to be the best we can all the time,” Luke said. “That's what I try to do.”

Working in the company’s Ford dealership, Luke said he has become interested in the Ford ASSET Program, a postsecondary program that combines classroom training and work experience.

“It's definitely impacted me a lot, helping me learn what I want to do,” he said.

Lucernoni said he appreciates working with Erie 1 BOCES to help develop the next generation of talent.

“It gives us the opportunity to meet some of these young students who want to be in the business, but it also gives us the opportunity to help instructors be up to date with what's going on in the industry,” he said.

Luke’s advice for fellow students interested in the automotive technician program? Give it a try.

“The industry needs you, you get paid well, you get to have fun all day and work on what you really want to work on,” Luke said. “It’s super nice.”

More information about the Erie 1 BOCES auto technician program can be found at https://www.e1b.org/en/k-12-education-programs/auto-technician-training.aspx.