Students from Palo Alto High School’s automative technology class will be displaying their car projects at the second annual showcase during extended lunch tomorrow in front of the auto shop.
According to junior Dominic Hernandez, who will be participating in the event, the tradition is returning after last year’s success.
“We did this last year and we just started this whole show again,” Hernandez said. “During COVID, the show wasn’t really present. But now that we have everyone back on campus, we’ve been starting to do more shows, and we’re planning to make this an annual thing.”
Hernandez said he hopes the showcase will have a high turnout after several weeks of preparation.
“Today we are getting some of the cars ready to roll out for the show tomorrow,” Hernandez said. “We really hope to get a lot of people out there, just so we can bring more attention to the shop and more people interested in cars and automotive technology. Hopefully, we can draw a big crowd out.”
Echoing this sentiment, senior Noah Stone said the showcase will allow more students to learn about the unique automotive program at Paly.
“There are a lot of people who haven’t been able to come in and see it [the auto shop] so I’m just excited to show people what we’ve been doing,” Stone said.
According to Stone, he has worked on his car for a long time and is proud for his project to be nearing the completion.
“I got this car a couple of years ago now and I got it broken down,” Stone said. “I figured I’d have the time to work on it, so I just got a group of my friends and we’ve been working on this for a while. We’re wrapping it up, so it’s been a lot of fun.”
Sophomore Lorelei Kardwell, another student in the program, said she has enjoyed her experience in the auto shop class.
“It’s really cool because I learned a lot about cars,” Kardwell said. “It’s definitely a more male[-dominated] class. There are a lot of guys in it, so it’s cool to be one of the only girls in the class who gets to learn about cars.”
Senior Paul Hung said he enjoys the autonomous approach to the class and the freedom that students have.
“I like how independent and hands-on it [the class] is,” Hung said. “There’s no major structure after you pass the basics. You can work on projects, like I’m working on fixing my friend’s Miata right now. You could totally just bring in your own car and work on that if you want it for free.”
Hung said Paly’s program is well-built and provides various resources for beginners.
“You don’t have to go to a mechanic shop, and there are a lot of tools to work with,” Hung said. “You have a really experienced teacher as well, who has almost all the answers. It’s a lot about learning on your own, which I really like.”
According to Stone, the skills he has picked up throughout his years working at Paly’s auto shop will prove handy beyond high school.
“The skills that I’m learning are going to directly save me money in the future because I might not have to go to a mechanic and pay them tons of money to do something easy that I can do,” Stone said.
According to Hernandez, he encourages other students at Paly to join the class for its direct real-world applications and life lessons.
“I’ve been in the automotive engineering program for three years, and one of my favorite parts about it is being excited to work on cars,” Hernandez said. “Right now, I’m working on a 1968 Cadillac DeVille, and it’s been such an amazing journey. It’s very valuable knowledge that everybody should know, and I highly encourage everyone to take this class at some point.”
