MISSOULA — Automotive shop students at Sentinel High School just received a 2023 Ford Explorer to work on from Lithia Ford and Ford Motor Company, giving the students the opportunity to work on modern technology.
Lithia partnered with Ford to give away the car, one of a few cars across several western states.
“We only had a couple, a handful of vehicles to distribute throughout the Seattle region. The reason we selected Sentinel High School is because this school is very active in course completion,” said Siena Miller, service performance zone manager for the Montana zone for Ford Motor Company.
For Lithia Ford, this was a chance to give the students an opportunity that they may not have had when they were in high school.
“I grew up in a small town right? We got to work on little small engines and kind of old cars, never really got the opportunity to work on something that’s brand new really. Adaptive cruise control can drive itself with blue cruise, I mean the whole nine yards. So it’s a really good opportunity for them to learn and actually experience some stuff before they choose what career path they’re going to go down,” said Lithia Ford Missoula general manager Shane Mornville.
And for the instructors of the shop class, the new car allows them to challenge the students.
“So our plan with this vehicle is to — actually we're going to put bugs in it as we call it...so that we put problems in it and they have to go and fix it," said Sentinel High School automotive instructor Brian Boot. "So they won't necessarily tear it down into like what we're doing over on the...older cars and stuff like that, but we will use things and we'll put typical problems that they might see and incur in there. And they'll have to do a lot of troubleshooting and, and it, it's a, it's a lot of critical thinking that goes along with this class as well because the critical thinking is, is what helps them make those connections and say, ok, if this happens, I can move on to this."
The experience that the students will gain working on modern technology allows them into a pipeline for a potential career.
“It’s a stepping stone for them to utilize that manufacturer training into our dealerships or a post-secondary school,” said Matt Phan, a technical placement specialist for Ford Motor Company.
While the new car may provide great opportunities for students, they know that there will be challenges when working on it.
“I’m sure there’s gonna be plenty of content for us to go over. So in one way, yeah, I am excited. But electrical work is kind of a pain,” said student Noah Lofink.
The car will not only be used by Sentinel students as well, as students from three high schools in Missoula come to Sentinel to take the shop classes.
