Ismael Garcia has always felt right at home under the hood of a car.
“My favorite movie growing up was ‘Cars’ with Lightning McQueen. I just thought it was cool,” Garcia said.
If a car is broken, the Gilmer High School junior can fix it.
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“I would trust him with your vehicle, with my vehicle, and anybody else’s,” auto shop instructor Ken Martin said.
The Ford Motor Company agrees. At a Friday ceremony, executives honored Garcia for successfully completing all 108 Ford auto technician courses. “Gone are the days of calling them mechanics. A mechanic is somebody who turns a wrench,” Ford’s Anthony Davis said. Davis says technicians know how to diagnose what is essentially a rolling computer. “My Ford Explorer has more circuitry than the Saturn 5 rocket that went to the moon,” Davis said.
Garcia’s classmate, Robby Sanders, has already put his training to work at Ronnie Thompson Ford in Ellijay.
“There are people who trust me every day with their vehicles. I don’t know about you all, but I wouldn’t want someone who ‘doesn’t know’ working on my vehicle, right?”
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Garcia is the first high school student in the nation to complete all of the Ford courses. He’s now as qualified and certified as they come. But in his heart, he’s a certified car guy. “I just think it’s cool. You can start with a basic car and turn it into a cool car; just put modifications in,” Garcia said. In a year, after high school, Garcia says he’ll head to technical school.
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