Photo Credit: CHERINA EUDOVIQUE
BY CHERINA EUDOVIQUE
The Cooper City High School Auto Technician class has been preparing for the Ford and AAA Florida state-wide automotive competition.
Auto shop has been around CCHS for over 3 decades and Daniel Sorrentino, the current instructor, has been teaching the class here for 26 years. He works hard to teach his students about life and responsibility while instructing them in Preventative Maintenance. From sophomore to senior year, students that have a natural interest in mechanics, show dedication, and want to be successful have the opportunity to take the Ford Exam and represent CCHS at the state competition.
Sorrentino picks the top 10 or 12 juniors and seniors that consistently perform well in class and on assessments to take the Ford Exam. He spends time in class and hours after school helping his students prepare for the exam. They cover topics like shop basics and proper use of power tools. The test takers must first qualify as a school so that the top three can compete at states.
The State Competition is a pretty big deal for Auto shop students. CCHS has won 7 state titles at the Florida State Automotive Competition and this is a legacy that this year’s competitors want to continue.
“I go to win every year and work so that the students have all the knowledge and resources available so they do win,” Sorrentino said.
Last year CCHS senior Byron Cheung represented CCHS, and placed 2nd in the school and 3rd at states. He competed along side Devin Burden, who graduated last year. As participants of the competition, they spent two nights, all expenses paid, in a hotel. Then Cheung and Burden were given a written test and a timed “hands on” exam. The written exam topics included Customer service, Engines, Auto/Manual, Suspensions, and Brakes. Also, for each question they got wrong, a minute was added to the time “hands on” de-bugging of a Ford Fusion 2011 SC.
“It wasn’t bad,” Cheung said. “Sorrentino rented a car model that was featured at the competition for us to practice with so we get comfortable with the parts and functions of the car.”
Ultimately, Cheung and Burden performed well, placing 3rd overall at states. Cheung was awarded with a $13,000 scholarship to BC, tools, and OBD scanner. All three of which he plans to be using in the near future.
“I’m going to UCF to major in Mechanical Engineering,” Cheung said. “I’m going to join Formula 1 SAE, a sort of club that builds and races motorcycles.”
This year, students including Michael Douglas hope to make it to the state level. Last year, Douglas was third in the school, just one point behind Cheung and this year he hopes to makes it to states. According to Douglas, the exam was harder this year.
“Last year, I was one point behind Byron,” Douglas said. “This year the test was much harder so I’ll be happy no matter who goes.”
On March 18th, it was announced that Nick Zorvich and Chris Armstrong will represent CCHS in Orlando for the AAA Autoskills Florida State Finals Competition.
