We are now getting to the time and place where high school seniors tout their college acceptances using the newest and oldest forms of communication to display their destination: the social media post and the sweatshirt.
Recently, one such announcement caught my eye. Amidst the Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley and Yale announcements, San Marino High School senior Jonathan Chen enthusiastically informed his classmates he would be spending the next four years at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.
While no institution of higher learning should ever be dismissed, Jonathan’s choice is slightly peculiar given the high-powered academic environment at SMHS, typically one of the more competitive in the nation. A little research uncovers a completely different story. This fall, Jonathan will enroll in Weber States Auto Tech program, the most progressive and highly ranked in the country.
“Ever since I was a little kid I had a thing for cars,” said Jonathan, who apparently also has a thing for effervescent personalities and smiling faces. “It started with Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, and when I grew older, I got more curious about how they ran.”
When it came time to begin answering the proverbial ‘What do you want to do for the rest of your life?’ question, Jonathan was already up to speed with the pace car.
“I researched for a major related to cars, and automotive technology came up,” Jonathan said. “A lot of the big name schools don’t offer that program, so most of my options were limited. I visited four of the schools that had that major, and Weber State came up as my favorite.”
Jonathan was also accepted at Ferris State in Michigan, Indiana State and Southern Illinois, but eventually opted for Weber State.
“The first two years are heavy on the side of applied science, so you get to know the most current cars and how they work,” Jonathan explained. “The next two years offer a wide range of possibilities. You can go into business, like fleet management, or how to open and run your own type of shop. Another route you could take that’s very popular right now is the study of alternative fuels. It’s a four-year program, which mixes hands-on applied science and business, all of it applying to vehicles.”
Jonathan already has specific dreams of where he wants to be in the future.
“I really want to strive to get into product testing, but I’d also like to get into the aftermarket industry,” he said. “California has such a vibrant car culture, and aftermarket is a huge industry here. My dream, with completion of this major, would be to join a professional racing team as a mechanic or as a business professional.”
Jonathan credits San Marino High School college counselor Lisa Perry with helping funnel his passion towards a potential career.
“Mrs. Perry helped me get involved with some outside courses,” said Jonathan. “I’m currently taking some automotive classes at Rio Hondo Community College so I can get a feel for what it’s like to be in a college-level shop class.”
If it sounds like a mutual admiration society, well, it is.
“Jonathan is a great kid,” Perry said. “He always has a smile on his face and makes you happy to be around. He also has this singular focus. When we met when Jonathan was a junior, he already knew what he wanted to do. He had done a lot of the work already; he had visited the campuses, talked to some of the professors. This is completely different from most of our kids, who are mostly interested in the Top 20 schools. Jonathan is a really great kid and I am proud that he has forged his own path. He has enthusiastically come to my office whenever he has been accepted into one of his schools.”
Not every high school senior – in fact, comparatively few – know what they want to do in college, let alone beyond.
“Many of the students have no idea,” said Perry. “Jonathan is a great example of someone who will march to the beat of his own drum. In the bigger picture, even if kids don’t know what they want to do, I hope they look for the best fit, not how they are perceived by the outside world for their choice.”
Jonathan has two older sisters currently in college on different coasts (Maryland and UC San Diego) and reports that his parents, Jenny and Hsien-Yuan Chen, are “100 percent supportive” of his choice to pursue a career in the automotive world.
“My dad was all for it, since he knows how much I love cars,” Jonathan said.
Jonathan…start your engine!
