April 4, 2025
By Farah Afifi
Staff Writer
Five seniors visited Hudson Toyota in Jersey City and Penske Truck Leasing in Linden on March 20 to learn about the apprenticeship program at the International Association of Machinists.
Students accepted into the program will be placed at a union auto shop to work and take classes at Passaic County Community College in Paterson to learn about auto or diesel maintenance and repair.
Senior Dakota Smith said the field trip was helpful because he got to see how two different auto shops operate.
“We first started walking into the autobody shop [at Hudson Toyota] and [were] seeing the mechanics working on the cars,” Smith said. “Then, we [took a school bus] to Penske to see and hear them talking about the parts of the trucks and how the repair systems work,” Smith said.
He said he plans to submit his application to the apprenticeship program as soon as possible so he can enroll once he graduates LHS.
“I plan to apply to this program because you don’t have to pay, and they pay you to work, and they teach you as well.”
The whole thing fell into my lap. It’s like when they say, ‘When God gives you lemons, you make lemonade,’” Smith said. “I like cars, and I can see myself working on them.”
Senior Jesus Mota said attending this field trip helped him realize he would like to participate in an apprenticeship program.
“I’ve always wanted to do something with cars,” Mota said. “Then, I found this program, and I realized that I want to be a mechanic and own my own shop.”
Like Smith, Mota said he believes an apprenticeship program would be a good fit for him.
“I plan to apply to this program because you don’t have to pay, and they pay you to work, and they teach you as well,” Mota said.
He said he is especially encouraged to pursue a career as a mechanic after seeing the facility at Hudson Toyota.
“I saw how clean and newly updated the automotive shops were and how even though everything is updated, [mechanics] still have to do labor,” Mota said.
This field trip is the first in a series organized by the Student Services Department that encourages students to explore post-secondary learning opportunities. On April 28, seniors are invited to visit Bergen Community College in Paramus, and juniors will visit Seton Hall University in South Orange on May 7.
“We realized some students might not have the transportation to get college tours, they might not have parents who have the time in their work schedules to get them to a college or a trade school and they might not know what questions to ask the tour guide [at] the college,” said school counselor Ms. Truncellito, who organized the automotive field trip.
She said her goals are to expose students to opportunities they may not have considered and to help them gain confidence in a potential career path.
“It’s nice to have a day to get out and just experience what life after high school might look like,” said Truncellito.
