News Release

CONTACT: Della Elliott, Public Information, (619) 644-7690, della.elliott@gcccd.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                               July 31, 2006

Ford ASSET students revved up for future

Cuyamaca College auto program graduates ninth class

EL CAJON--Call it a sartorial case of California Casual.

Or maybe, it was just a bunch of young community college grads poking good-natured fun at their favorite instructor. After two years teaching the 13 students in Cuyamaca College’s Ford ASSET program, Pat Garity had become a mentor and something of a father figure to the tightly knit group of auto technicians in the making.
So, when Garity suggested during the graduation rehearsal that dark slacks and shoes would be appropriate attire for the ceremony, the reaction was predictable.

At Wednesday’s commencement of the 2006 Ford ASSET class, the uniform of the day beneath decorous graduation gowns was shorts and flip-flop sandals.

Haute couture for the surf’s-up crowd? No doubt.

Goofy fashion statement aside, the students who received their associate of science degrees in the automotive technology program July 26 also showed a more serious side – a commitment to their futures.

“This class showed tremendous focus and dedication,” said Governing Board Trustee Rick Alexander. “Students even came back two weeks early this semester to take optional classes taught by Ford Motor Co. trainers from the LA training center – special classes not even included in the Ford ASSET curricula.”

Garity described the students as the best he’s ever had, noting that when they started in the program, the college’s automotive technology complex was undergoing a major reconstruction. That meant relocating classes to a temporary trailer, a good distance away from the automotive building with its myriad tools, parts and equipment, as well as auto bays where the hands-on training takes place.

“Our ‘shop’ consisted of a couple of training vehicles illegally parked on a small piece of concrete outside the trailer in the hot sun,” Garity reminisced about the first months of class. “The young men and woman of this class took it all in stride and rose to the occasion without complaint. I’m going to miss this group.”

With the completion in spring 2005 of the $3 million remodeling of the ATC, funded by Prop. R, the 2002 bond measure approved by East County voters for facility improvements at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges, automotive students today are in a larger, better-engineered facility that boasts high-tech features such as “smart” classrooms and a 25-station computer lab with state-of-the-art diagnostic software.

Having completed two grueling years of classroom and lab instruction and on-the-job training without the customary summer breaks enjoyed by most college students, the Ford ASSET graduates aren’t resting on their laurels. They’re about to shift into high gear, launching potentially lucrative careers as certified technicians.

Wednesday’s commencement marked the 18th anniversary of the program at the campus and the graduation of the ninth class of ASSET students. This year, as in years past, the graduates picked up their sheepskins, secure in the knowledge that they also had full-time jobs awaiting them at the 10 Ford dealerships in San Diego and Imperial counties that had sponsored their enrollment in the ASSET program.

As the only one of its kind in the county, the Ford Automotive Student Service Education Training program draws students from throughout the region and as far away as El Centro, where graduate Mike Robles lives.

Dr. Madelaine Wolfe, a Cuyamaca College dean, said it’s not only the amount of automotive training that the students receive through the ASSET program, but the insistence that students acquire a well-rounded education that makes the program so challenging.

“ASSET graduates complete one of the heaviest unit loads of any major in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District – right up there with nursing and engineering,” she said.

While the program demands a breadth of training and knowledge in not only automotive-related subjects but also academic subjects such as technical mathematics, applied physics, English and social studies, the payoff is a near-guaranteed job upon graduation.

According to Ford Motor Co., 99 percent of ASSET graduates get hired at Ford or Lincoln Mercury dealerships.

But at Wednesday’s ceremony held outdoors in the shadow of the campus library with the massive construction site of the communication arts building serving as a backdrop, the workaday world seemed far away – a lead actor relegated to understudy, at least on this particular day.

The fondness and admiration the students have for Garity was reflected in the words of student speaker Reyes Sandoval.

“Ask anyone of Pat’s ASSET students and they’ll be quick to warn you of his jokes, and then after that, they will tell you how they can recite all of his jokes verbatim in just under five minutes. All eight of them,” Reyes deadpanned as his fellow students laughed and nodded their heads in agreement.

“In all seriousness, the real reason I am up here today – the only reason I wanted to speak – was to try and summarize all of the gratitude that the ASSET students in this class have for our instructor. He has taught so many things – he has given us the knowledge, the tools, and that little something extra that will help us all to have successful careers.

He has given us a huge jumpstart on life and we will be forever thankful.”

Students earn between $6-$8 an hour while undergoing the training, but typically make between $35,000 and $50,000 upon completion of the program, Garity notes. According to U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, many master technicians earn from $70,000 to $100,000 annually because of commissions.
With the Aug. 21 start of the regular fall semester just a couple of weeks away, Garity is gearing up for the next cohort of Ford ASSET students.

To enroll in the program, call Pat Garity at (619) 660-4267.

Cuyamaca’s automotive technology department also offers the General Motors Automotive Service Educational Program, or GM-ASEP, another corporate-sponsored job training program.

Cuyamaca College is at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in East County’s Rancho San Diego. To apply for admission and register for classes, go to www.cuyamaca.edu or call admission and records at (619) 660-4275.

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