All-Girls Automotive Technology Program A Success at Myers Park High School in Charlotte
The automotive repair industry is an ever-growing field that has created jobs for skilled repair-people as long as there have been cars. With the path to higher education becoming easier and higher education being strongly encouraged over the past several decades, vocational classes such as wood shop and auto shop have seen a decline to the point of public high schools closing down auto shops and ending courses. Charlotte’s Myers Park High School has had an automotive program for many years, but never before has it seen the passion of an instructor like Kristina Carlevatti. Carlevatti makes sure all of her students are getting into the shop, getting dirty, and actually putting what they learn during lecture time to work in the shop. During the last six years since Carlevatti became the instructor, Myers Park’s auto shop has seen tremendous growth both in class size and student diversity.
It is no secret that the automotive repair industry is male-dominated, and subsequently women are underrepresented in the field. Carlevatti has made it a goal to educate more young women in automotive repair to help them feel more confident working on their own cars and in choosing a technical career path. Carlevatti is certified to teach pre-engineering technical education, and recalls being in a very clear minority while taking automotive classes as a college student. Her goal with the all-female course is to help young women feel more confident in automotive repair without the concern of being a minority in the class. After increasing automotive technology course enrollment to the point of having a waiting list, Carlevatti noticed that most of her students were male by a large majority. After Myers Park added a second automotive instructor this semester, Carlevatti decided to take the initiative and created an all-girls class.
Students in the all-female course have expressed interest in making a career out of automotive technology, and in the Charlotte area these jobs are in demand. Though Myers Park High School is well-known for its International Baccalaureate program and places many students in Ivy League colleges, Carlevatti is placing students in automotive careers every year. Although the Career and Technical Education (CTE) department of Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools sometimes falls by the wayside in lieu of academic magnet programs, success in the CTE department is a state requirement to prepare students for both college and careers. Some students enrolled in the automotive courses at Myers Park can complete a series of courses and exams that prepare them for immediate employment upon graduation. On the less serious side of things, in recent years Carlevatti and her students have built a vehicle for the “24 Hours of LeMons” race, which is an endurance race for junky old cars. The goal of the race is not so much to win as it is to have fun, and this semester Carlevatti’s female class is going to experience the LeMons race alongside students from her other classes. Careers aside, Carlevatti is just excited to see young women getting their hands dirty and gleaning knowledge about their own vehicles. A comprehensive article by Ann Doss Helms from The Charlotte Observer can be found here complete with more photos and a video.
Photos: John D. Simmons, The Charlotte Observer
Sources: The Charlotte Observer
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