It was just supposed to be an elective.
When December graduate Aaron Shoupe entered his junior year, he was scrambling to find classes to fill his empty schedule. This is why the three-block Auto Service class held at Mckenzie appealed so much to him. He never imagined that it would open a new door in his life.
“Well honestly, it’s kind of an accident. Junior year I didn’t have any electives I wanted to do and I saw the Auto Service [class] was three blocks. I did that just to fill in some space. About half way through the year, my boss came in with a college [rep] and he liked my attentiveness and the questions I was asking. He had the teacher give me a business card and I followed up with him. He had me come in on a Saturday and if he liked it, he’d hire me. The rest of my junior year, I worked Saturdays because our shop closed at five and then my senior year, I just didn’t have any classes,” Shoupe said.
Shoupe works as a paid mechanics intern at Don Hinds Ford in Fishers. This opportunity was exciting for Shoupe as he prefers working over sitting in a classroom all day. Shoupe hopes to turn this internship into a full time career in the future but still has some work to put in before this can become a possibility. Although he makes $9 an hour, Shoupe is facing a $1,000 bill for all of the tools he must purchase to work.
“I was borrowing tools from people, but it adds on an extra stress level of; don’t lose the tool, don’t break the tool and don’t get it dirty. We have special tools that everybody needs to use but besides for that, you supply your own. I owe 60 bucks a week,” Shoupe said.
Senior Dominique Wilson plans on putting college on the burner and focus on advancing his career. Unlike Shoupe, Wilson will accomplish this through joining the army. He hopes to pursue his field of interest, engineering, and then possibly attend college in the future.
“I didn’t really want to go to college, at least not yet, because I go to sleep most the time in class. I wanted to get a job immediately and do work. The army seemed like a good choice, and if I want to go to college, I can go still and it will be free. If I stay in for 20 years, I’ll be able to retire at 38, with $50,000 a year I think,” Wilson said.
Unlike Wilson, for Shoupe, the idea of college was something he never fully entertained. He would much rather work then be stuck in another classroom. For this reason, Shoupe graduated early after completing only one semester of his senior year. He still plans to walk at graduation with his peers due to his mother’s insistence.
“All school would have done was help hold me back and waste my time. Well Lawrence North didn’t do much but I’ve always liked McKenzie. Their programs are really fun to do and really inclusive and they teach a lot. Auto service, when I took that class, I barely knew how to do an oil change and now I helped swap an engine a few weeks ago,” Shoupe said.
For Wilson, the idea of attending college is still a possibility in his future. But the thought of going now is something he’s not too enthusiastic about.
“[It] costs a lot of money [and] I don’t want to go in super young. I don’t want to go in the college not knowing what I want to do with my life. I know like 30 people who are going who haven’t picked a career yet and a lot of people switch majors cause they get older,” Wilson said.
Unlike the 30 people Wilson knows, Shoupe is dead set on pursuing a career as a car mechanic. He plans on working in that field for a long time and creating a future around it. Despite the struggle of managing his time properly, Shoupe enjoys the job as a whole.
“I really like the people that I work with and the people that I work for. I’ve always been a hands on kind of guy. I learn something knew just about every day,” Shoupe said. “There’s something different about learning hands on then just reading a book and finding out.”