Andrew Castillo, who runs the Automotive Collision Repair & Refinishing program at South Garland High School, and Joshua Manta, a student in the program, recently made history. And, it was a year of several firsts. It was Castillo’s first year to teach and Manta’s first year to participate in an auto collision repair competition. In addition, it was the first year that Garland ISD had been represented in the auto collision repair category in he SkillsUSA competition.
They swept the hands-on competition, taking first second and third place at the district level in collision repair technology. Manta was the first-place winner, then also took first place at the state level which was held in Corpus Christi. The final event of the year was the national level competition in Atlanta, Georgia. Manta finished in the top 10 in the nation.
Castillo, a 2011 graduate of Lakeview Centennial High School, went through the automotive collision repair and refinishing class there and was working in the industry when the opportunity to teach came. His teacher, Craig Bowman, was getting close to retirement and told Castillo that the position would soon be available.
“I had played with the idea of being a teacher, but it’s something that I thought would come near the end of my career,” he said.
But Castillo said that once the opportunity came up, people that he talked to said that if he didn’t seize the opportunity, it might not come around again. He visited the school and talked to the students to be sure they could relate well. Castillo also understood that if the job was really for him, he would get it.
“It has changed my point of view of life and things around the community,” he said.
Community pride has fueled him to help the students achieve something they hadn’t achieved before.
GISD schools have taken objects that were already painted to the competition to show them, but that is different from the hands-on competition.
“This was the first time and we took a handful of students to try our luck and to find out if the students would like it,” Castillo said. “We weren’t expecting to place in the competition. We just wanted to go and get a feel for what it’s like.”
During the hands-on competition, students complete tasks while the judges observe. Manta did repairs on a plastic bumper and on a fender and then did the necessary welding. He also did measurements of vehicle damage on a frame machine during the hands-on part. With this knowledge, the students can do estimates for repairs.
“Our ultimate goal as teachers…is to ensure that these students will be able to find a job straight out of high school and be able to support their families,” Castillo said. “This program puts them four years ahead of anyone else that is going into this industry.”
Castillo added that expectations of the students are high. We want them to get into the field and hit the ground running.
“We hold our students to a high standard because we understand what they are capable of,” he said.
Having the judges watch him work made Manta feel like he stood out in a positive way. He said that he was nervous at first but after about 10 minutes of them watching he got used to it and was able to block it out.
Manta enjoyed meeting all the people at the competition. The advice he would give other students would be to enjoy themselves and participate in the competition for the memories.
“I met a lot of nice people that I hope to see again,” Manta said. “Getting the experience is great.”
He would also advise students to be unafraid and not to be shy.
About SkillsUSA:
Founded in 1965, the SkillsUSA Championships is the largest skill competition in the world. It is a nonprofit partnership of students, teachers and industry that empowers its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens. Through SkillsUSA’s career competitions program and curricula, employers ensure schools are teaching relevant technical skills. And, with SkillsUSA’s credentialing process, they can assess the career-readiness of future employees. SkillsUSA is recognized by the U.S. departments of Education and Labor as integral to career and technical education.
Students demonstrate their technical, workplace and personal skills in 108 hands-on occupational and leadership competitions. Industry leaders from 650 businesses, corporations, trade associations and unions planned and evaluated the contestants against their standards for entry-level workers. More than 1,100 industry judges and technical committee members participated this year.