NEISD career and tech students staying busy during school closures
The doors of the Career and Technical Education Center (CTEC) may be closed, but for many of its students, the learning continues.
Seventeen-year-old Naomi Sowell is a student in the Automotive and Technology Academy (ATA) at CTEC.
She’s learned things like how to change tires and how to replace headlights.
Even with school closed, she’s staying busy and using her skills to help out at a disabled veteran-owned auto shop not far from CTEC.
“Today, we had to replace an alternator on a car that stopped working,” Sowell explained.
Her mom, Carrie Jordan, said when the shop needed an extra hand, Naomi was happy to provide it.
“He needed some assistance with it just because she is so little and can get underneath tight spaces,” she said.
Jordan said her daughter is an independent girl and she’s proud to see her daughter testing the limits on what she can do, especially in a primarily male-dominated field.
Naomi has also tackled many projects at home.
“We have a four-wheeler that’s been in our backyard for two years and we haven’t really been able to work on it. She took some interest in it so we took it apart and she actually changed the carburetor on it,” Jordan explained.
The James Madison High School Sophomore is refining those skills that will help her in the future.
“I didn’t know anything about cars before I joined this class and now I know a few things,” Sowell said.
“Going into autotech is going to be beneficial for her in the long run because she’s going to always have to maintain a vehicle,” her mom said.
Because even though classrooms may be empty, learning never stops.
“Now, with parents having to stay home and not being able to go to work, you can teach them so many life skills. Keeping their minds busy is the one thing that’s going to keep them going and pull people through,” Jordan said.
For more information on the ATA program at CTEC, click here: https://www.neisd.net/Page/23529.
And we will pull through, because #NEISDcares!
