While most Judah students are in their classes during the first two periods of the day, Nathaniel Herche is nowhere to be found. He’s not in the hallways, in any classrooms, or in the bathroom. In fact, Nathaniel’s not even in the Judah school building. Is he sleeping in? Is he skipping? Is he on vacation? No, Nathaniel is in the Parkland College garage.
During his junior and senior year at Judah, Nathaniel has been attending Parkland’s Early College and Career Academy, specifically the career academy’s automotive technology program. This program helps high school students gain familiarity with working under the hood of a car as well as with the work environment of a mechanic’s shop. Nathaniel is the first Judah student to take part in this program. He is paving the way for future students.
Nathaniel was introduced to this opportunity when Mrs. Miller, Judah’s guidance counselor, talked to him about his options for junior year. She mentioned the automotive technology program at Parkland, and it grabbed Nathaniel’s attention, so they decided to dig deeper.
Nathaniel’s mom, a science teacher at Judah, saw that Nathaniel was interested. Mrs. Herche said, “The chance for Nathaniel to learn something that he enjoyed was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.” So Mrs. Herche pushed hard for the chance to enroll him in the automotive trade classes, doing all that she could to make Nathaniel learning this practical job skill while at Judah a reality. After evaluating the Parkland program, the Judah administration agreed.
Nathaniel’s morning at Parkland can involve sitting in a classroom lecture or doing hands-on work in the shop. During the hands-on days, Nathaniel and his peers apply the skills that they learn in the classroom to the cars in the garage. This translation from head to hands helps the students learn the material, apply it, and understand it on a deeper level.
Nathaniel says that the most useful thing he has learned is “how to get a job, how you need to act in the work environment to keep a job, and how to be looked upon well by your superiors.” He and the other students learn these invaluable skills while enjoying the company of each other. “We have a fun time hanging out and working on cars,” Nathaniel says, “so we are all motivated to be there.”
During his senior year, Nathaniel is taking higher-level automotive classes and learning more advanced automotive skills. He says that the Parkland program is extremely effective in helping students explore a future in automotive technology and that Parkland has an exceptional reputation for training mechanics. Not only does the Parkland program provide students with the skills needed for an important trade, but it also prepares them for further training in life and college.
For completing the first year of the program, Nathaniel earned 14 college credits. He’ll earn another 14 credits this year. This is a huge amount of college credit for a high school student to gain from a pre-college program. For context, if getting a four-year college degree requires 120 credits, then 15 credits is the amount of coursework in one semester. With a combined total of 28 college credits from both years of the program, Nathaniel will have earned nearly a quarter of the credits he needs to graduate from college before even graduating from high school.
Nathaniel describes his experience at Parkland as exceptional, and he believes that he isn’t the only one who will feel that way. He recommends Parkland’s Early College and Career Academy to anyone who wants to get a headstart on their future career. “It’s a great experience,” he says. “You get to learn something that our school doesn’t currently offer, and it’s fun to be there.”
Nathaniel doesn’t have to be the only Judah student to attend one of these trade programs. Besides automotive technology, Parkland provides other trade programs too, including a year of computer programming with training in website and mobile app development, a year of hands-on introduction in the building and construction trades, a year of hands-on introduction to careers in criminal justice, a year of hands-on introduction to careers in nursing and healthcare, a year of hands-on introduction to emergency medical services or firefighting, a year of hands-on introduction to careers in teaching and education, a year of hands-on training in precision agriculture and drone piloting, and a year of hands-on introduction to careers in machining, welding, and computer-aided industrial design.
This amazingly wide range of early college and career classes can set students in the right direction for what they want to do for a job. Yet that’s not all. Mrs. Herche says, “The Parkland Early College and Career Academy training fits well with Judah’s mission to equip students for a Christ-honoring life of service.” Offering programs like these creates a great opportunity for students who want to set themselves up for success while living a life of serving in Christ. The kingdom of God needs skilled and honest workers — like Nathaniel Herche, part-time mechanic.
—Braden Laird, class of ’25
Comments