Developing skills while giving back
Murdoch MacKay auto students refurbish car for raffle to benefit Winnipeg Harvest
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This article was published 12/03/2020 (2040 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
For a cool $25, Park City residents can help support Winnipeg Harvest and local automotive technology students.
All year, Grade 10 students in Murdoch MacKay Collegiate’s automotive technology program have been fixing up a 2005 Mitsubishi Endeavor as part of their course work. On June 11, at the school’s annual car show and barbecue, the grey V6 4×4 will be auctioned off. Proceeds from the auction will be donated to Winnipeg Harvest. A maximum of 250 tickets will be sold for the raffle.
“Thanks to a gracious donation by a community member, Murdoch MacKay auto students were provided with an opportunity that would give back to the community,” explained Lucas MacIntosh, a teacher in the automotive program at the school.
Grade 10 students who were in the auto shops in the first semester did most of the repair to the 2005 Endeavor up for raffle, while the current group is putting the finishing touches on the project, and selling raffle tickets.
“This also helps us let the community know that we are here,” added MacIntosh, who worked in the industry for 20 years before recently becoming a full-time teacher. “We’re always looking for project vehicles, which help keep our students working. We’re a shop. If nobody shows up, we have no work to do but cleaning floors.”
Like other apprenticeship approved vocational programs, Murdoch’s automotive program allows students who graduate from the program with average grades of 70 per cent or higher to earn the first level of apprenticeship while in school.
“That gives them a head start over someone just looking to jump into the trade,” MacIntosh said. “Training includes basic maintenance, brake jobs, suspension, tune ups, alignments, tire repairs. We take on a lot more jobs than the curriculum suggests, which adds to the program.”
Currently, the program has approximately 130 students in the faculty, the bulk of them in introductory Grade 9 courses. In Grade 10, students pick a program to focus on, spending half the day for one semester in the shops.
“I’ve liked cars since I was little,” said Chloe Cayer, a Grade 10 student in MacIntosh’s class this semester. “Cars were kind of my thing. When I found out Murdoch had an auto program, I knew that’s what I was doing.”
The hands-on nature of the course gives students skills and helps build confidence.
“I did my first brake inspection by myself, and that boosted my confidence,” Daniel Wilson, another Grade 10 student in the program, said. “I did my first oil change, and I didn’t really know how to do that.”
“After doing my first brake change and oil change, I was like whoa, cool,” Cayer said. “By the fourth, I knew what I was doing.”
Both Cayer and Wilson enjoy the program, and would recommend it to new students.
“This is my favourite class, because I get to have fun while I’m learning, and I’m learning things that I actually want to learn,” Cayer said. “Even if it’s not what you want to go into after high school, it’s a skill that not many people have any more.”
“When you have your friends and you’re working on a car, it’s all fun,” Wilson added. “But you’re getting credit out of it.”
To purchase a ticket for Murdoch MacKay Collegiate’s automotive technology car raffle, contact MacIntosh at lmacintosh@retsd.mb.ca or call 204-955-5243. Tickets can also be purchased at the school auto shop.
Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist
Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist
Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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