CCTI grad thrives in automotive service field

A Carbon Career & Technical Institute graduate swung by the Joint Operating Committee to discuss her nontraditional career path and express an interest in returning to the school as an instructor during Thursday’s Joint Operating Committee meeting.

Miranda Green graduated from CCTI in 2016 with a focus in the Auto Service and Technology program. Just last month, she completed training at UTI, after which she immediately jumped into an automotive technician position at Kovatch Ford.

It was thanks to her education at CCTI that Green was able to build a good educational foundation for her already successful career.

“I would have to say that the program gave the basic skills that I needed to advance,” she said. “They gave me all the basics of light repair, and they pushed me to move on to another school to get everything I needed to go into the workforce.”

While pursuing her AST studies at CCTI, Green was able to pick up plenty of funding for her education, including one scholarship from her future employer and another from a local auto competition.

“I did get a $5,000 scholarship from Kovatch, actually. I wrote an essay about how I wanted to be a NASCAR mechanic,” she said. “I also got a 50 percent scholarship from UTI for competing in the Greater Lehigh Valley Auto Dealership Competition, where I got second place.”

Originally, Green studied architecture at CCTI, but when she became disinterested in the work, she decided to switch gears.

“I actually wanted to go into Auto Service not really to plan on making a career out of working on cars, but I just wanted to know how to do it better than what my dad had already taught me. And then it just took off, because I realized how much I liked it, and I thought, ‘I really could do this as a career,’ ” she said.

One might think that being a female in a male-dominated industry would be at least a little difficult, if not rather competitive, but Green said that she doesn’t look at it that way.

“A lot of people ask me about that — ‘You compete against the guys! How are you against the guys?’ Well, I don’t really see it as competing against the guys. I do the best that I can do, and I go to my full potential. If I surpass them, well, you know, I’m just doing the best I can,” she said.

While Green certainly has a bright and fruitful future ahead of her — that NASCAR position isn’t out of the question yet — she is looking forward to passing on her wisdom to students at her alma mater.

“I would like to be teaching here at CCTI in the future,” she said.

She may just have an opportunity soon enough, as Auto Service and Technology instructor Hal Resh may be looking toward retirement in the coming years. English instructor Mike Wildoner, who invited Green to speak at the meeting, thinks that Green has a strong shot at the position thanks to her talent and dedication.

As for now, when it comes to educating the young tech students, Green has one key bit of advice to pass along.

“Pay attention,” she said. “It is hard to pay attention, I’ve been there, you’re tired, but take what you can. The teachers here have a lot of great knowledge that they can pass down to you. Listening to Mr. Resh, he can show you these little tricks to make working on cars easier for you. Don’t just throw it under a rug and forget about it, take what they have to say and use it for yourself.”