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Whitewater High School Tech Ed Automotive Students
Receive ASE Certifications
Wednesday morning at Whitewater High career readiness.”
School was a special day for eight tech ed stu- The ASE provides both, he said.
dents taking automotive classes. While all of his students are given an
Their teacher, Justin Buntrock, said the opportunity to take the ASE exams, not every-
students, all of whom had passed an exami- one passes them, he stated.
nation certifying them in various aspects This year, in his Automotives 1 class,
of automotive service and repair, were the 11 students took the brakes exam and five
recipients of specially purchased customized achieved certification.
mechanic shop shirts, each sporting the name In his Automotives 2 class, six students
of the student, the “Whitewater automotive” took the MLR exam and three achieved certi-
program logo, and an ASE (National Institute fication.
for Automotive Service Excellence) patch. Students can try again anytime before
The shirts, which were distributed to the June, he said.
students Wednesday morning, served as an Some students are drawn to the certifi-
incentive to encourage them to take the certi- cation opportunities because they are likely
fication exams, Buntrock said. considering a career in the field or have auto-
Whitewater High School Principal Brent motive backgrounds in their families.
Mansky came up with the idea, Buntrock It’s a history that Buntrock shares.
noted, adding that the opportunity to earn the Whitewater High School Automotive 1 and 2 students AJ Canipe, from left, Jacob Raglin, Lo-
shirts was well-received by his automotive stu- gan Voegeli, Nolan Legge, Nate Holden, Justin Johnson, Gavan LaFlash, Scotty Krebs, and A new automotive teacher
tech ed automotive teacher Justin Buntrock gather in the automotive shop after the students
dents, who viewed them as a source of program receive their customized mechanic shop shirts. The shirts were presented Wednesday to Buntrock joined the Whitewater High
and school pride. eight students who in December achieved ASE certification. School staff at the beginning of last school
year. Prior to that, he said, he served for five
The value to ASE certification light repair, Buntrock said, describing the exam get a foot in the door to start a career in the years as an automotive shop teacher at the Fort
According to Buntrock, eight of his stu- taken by students in Automotives 2 as “more automotive field,” further describing the certi- Atkinson High School.
dents had each taken and passed one of two rigorous.” fications as “a good resume builder.” He made the move because he saw an
exams in December. Students who take the automotive classes Among the students who take his classes, opportunity to become involved with program
Students in his “Automotive 1” class, offered at Whitewater High School learn auto he said, “some will go into the workforce or development, which, he said, offered some
including Nolan Legge, Gavan LaFlash, Nate mechanics and shop-based skills, Buntrock will go to school for an automotive career, and rewarding challenges, and the school had a
Holden, AJ Canipe and Logan Voegeli, took said. the ASE certification is an almost guaranteed larger automotive shop.
and passed an exam to certify them in the “The ASE certification is a nationally rec- in.” While serving in the School District of
service and maintenance of brakes. Taking the ognized certification and an industry standard Still, he said, not every student who Fort Atkinson and in an earlier interview with
Automotives 1 class and passing the brake- for most mechanics in the industry,” Buntrock takes automotive classes is planning a career Fort Atkinson Online, Buntrock said his inter-
related ASE exam were the two requirements noted in a recent email. in the industry, but those who take his classes est in the automotive industry was nurtured by
for certification. He described the exams taken by his stu- and earn certification will have opportuni- his father, whom, he said, wanted he and his
Students in his “Automotives 2” class, dents as “very content heavy on theory and ties to save money because they will be able brother to have self-sufficiency when it came
including Scotty Krebbs, Justin Johnson and automotive repair skills and knowledge.” to perform some of their own work on their to their vehicles.
Jacob Raglin, had previously taken Automo- Buntrock said he steers his students vehicles. “My old man was a mechanic for about
tives 1, and last semester, they took and passed toward achieving the ASE certifications “It benefits them in real-world life,” he
an ASE exam in “MLR,” or maintenance and because, “it’s just a really good opportunity to said, adding that he likes to say: “life skills and Continued on Page 12
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