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16 | Transportation Today Wisconsin™ Online Edition: www.transportationtodaywi.com

Meet the Glendale Teenager Gearing Up for the Auto-Mechanic Industry

cians right now. According
to Tech Force, between
now and 2028, 349,000
automotive technicians
are expected to leave the
industry due to turnover
or retirement, while only
87,000 are expected to enter.
It’s not just Acie who
could be entering the indus-
try in the near future. He’s
also helping inspire the next
wave of mechanics.
Sometimes, people
who get their car worked on
by Acie bring their children.
“Kids will be sitting
there looking bored, so I’m
just like, ‘Do you want to learn how to do brakes own shop.
or how to do an oil change?’ and I show them “I want to call it Ace Autos because my
how to do it,” Holland III said. name is Ace. My dad’s name is Ace, and my
Through his work, he’s able to give these grandfather’s name is also Ace,” Holland III
kids a glimpse into what it’s like to go under the said.
hood. Keep an eye out for Ace Autos in the near
He’s also able to show the community his future.
skills, like Justin Jenkins, who needed some By: Mike Beiermeister for TMJ4. Reprinted
work on his brakes. with permission
“He came highly recommended, so this is
my first time here,” Jenkins said.
All the experience he is gaining is going www.nicolet.k12.wi.us
toward his ultimate goal of one day opening his
Most nights after school, Acie Holland III finds peace while helping out with all different
can be found in a garage working on cars. He types of cars.
works on brakes, oil changes, and everything Holland III discovered his passion at a Glen Hills 8th-grader Helps Save School
in between for drivers, all with the help of his young age.
father and grandfather. watch how my dad or my papa did it,” Holland Bus after Driver has Medical Emergency
“I would sit there, hold a flashlight, and
TMJ4 first met Acie back in late April
when he helped save a bus full of his classmates III said. “Then, once I learned certain tools, I From April, 2024 The two have spent time since Acie was
after the driver suffered a medical emergency. did certain jobs. I started off with oil changes, young, working on cars and learning about
(See at right) and then from oil changes, I went up to brakes.” A quick-thinking 8th-grader saved the mechanics.
It was his knowledge of vehicles that gave The Nicolet High School freshman now day when their school bus driver had a medical “It didn’t phase me because I know that
him the confidence to maneuver the bus to a safe has big dreams and hopes to one day enter the emergency on Wednesday evening. he’s capable of almost anything,” said Holland
place. That knowledge was passed down from industry after graduating from high school and Acie Holland III, a Glen Hills 8th-grader, II.
generation to generation. technical school. noticed the bus was beginning to veer into the Acie also helped save the day for TMJ4.
“It makes me feel good knowing that I “I want to work at a dealership for a minute oncoming lane. Then, he says he noticed his He helped jump the dead battery for a station
have two gentlemen in my life who show me just to get the feel of everything,” Holland III school bus driver was not responsive. news car while at Glen Hills Middle School.
everything,” Holland III said. said. “As we got about 20 feet down Villard, I “It’s nice to know that he’s carrying that
It starts in the garage, where Holland III It’s an industry in need of skilled techni- was looking at my phone and I looked back up
and I felt the bus accelerate,” Acie said. “And I name along, so that makes me feel awesome,”
looked at the bus driver because she went past said Acie’s father.
my stop and I looked and I seen her head just The young man is also an excellent
go down.” wrestler and enjoys go-karting. He credits the
That’s when 8th grader Acie sprung into positive impact his family has had on him for
action, moving the bus driver’s foot off the his quick-thinking and confidence.
gas, and hitting the brakes. “That just comes from being raised
“I ran up there, I took control of the bus around positive people and being surrounded
because I was scared but at the same time, I by positive people,” said Holland III.
was like I wanted to just make sure everyone The Glen Hills School Community said
was okay, and that nothing was gonna happen they could not be any prouder of Acie.
while I was there,” Acie added. Students could be heard chanting
He then securely parked the bus, con- AC-Hero when school let out on Thursday.
tacted 911, and told the younger students to By: Mike Beiermeister , Jay Sirkin for
call their parents. TMJ4. Reprinted with permission
The driver then regained consciousness
and was able to call her dispatch.
“He’s an ace,” said father Acie Holland
II.