This edition of the Student Spotlight is about Aren Lundquist, a Junior at Academy High who is interested in car mechanics. Aren works alongside this dad who is a freelance mechanic, and they are working towards opening a shop in Ogden, Illinois. Everything he knows about mechanics he learned from his dad, and he tries to help around at the shop as much as possible by going in on weekends and after school.
It is often difficult to diagnose what is wrong with the vehicle, so “It’s a really gratifying moment when I finish a project. To see it as this car came in from a totaled auction and now it’s shiny, brand new, and ready to sell,” he says. “The process of repairing and restoring cars is often very frustrating at first, but the end result is so rewarding that it becomes a really fun experience.”
At the shop, it occasionally takes a couple of tries to get a repair right, for example, they were recently working on a truck and there was a missing part that could not be found anywhere in the country. When they eventually did find the part they were looking for, it cost more than the actual repair job. Instead, they tried to make the part, by putting together various other car parts, which didn’t work the first time. But after persistent efforts the truck is now driving again. “That was really frustrating because the part didn’t exist so we had to try and make it, and it took multiple attempts to finally get it to work.”
Since Aren and his father are working towards opening a shop, Aren has gotten to learn about what goes into opening a business. Because of the renovations in preparation for the shop, Aren has been able to learn how to fix not just cars, but also how to put up walls and insulation. Another project they are planning to work on is restoring a 1942 Power Wagon, to then use as a vehicle for the shop. Currently, the car is just a shell, so they will need to put in practically everything from a floor, to engine, interior, exhaust, and transmission. Most of the projects they work on take a lot of time and effort but the end result makes it worth it.
Aren initially planned to turn his mechanics expertise into a career but taking other circumstances into account he has not yet decided. For now, he continues to work alongside his dad as they set up the shop. “Personally the coolest thing I’ve worked on making a shop for my dad.”