Friday, December 20, 2013

Seventeenth Week Of Pathways

12/20/2013 My seventeenth week of Pathways was the best. I learned so much this semester. I think I learned enough to use this experience on my own car one day. Now I know how to change the oil, change the tires and check the engine for any malfunctions in the car. The teachers there at the Auto Shop were very helpful and made it very clear when teaching. I understood and learned very quickly. I learned about the safety rules in the Auto Shop, like the type of clothing to wear when doing certain things to the car For example, when you're about to paint the car you have to use these overalls that cover your whole body and they will provide you a helmet that cuts out the air from the paint room that's full of paint chemicals. This helmet supplies you oxygen from a machine outside of the painting room. When welding you have to use a welding mask that protects you from the sparks from jumping to your face. The welding mask also has a dark tinted glass piece that allows you to see what you're doing. The tint protects you from the very bright light a torch makes. I'm already checking the spark plugs on my mom's car. I had fun at that Auto Shop and learned a lot. I had my finals this Monday and Tuesday for my Basic Fuels class and for my Auto Collision Repair class. I think I did really well on the tests. Now I'm going to enjoy this winter break and enjoy the holidays with my family. I love gaining knowledge; It feels great, Thank You Pathways!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Sixteenth Week Of Pathways

12/13/2013 My sixteenth week of Pathways was very hands on. I finished disassembling the truck in my Auto Shop with the whole class. The teacher was grading us on how we use the tools on the vehicle. We placed all of the metal pieces on a truck to be sold at a junk yard like Pick n Pull. Finals are coming real soon, I don't have school next week starting Monday of next week. I'm getting an interview today for an ecology program and I'm really excited to start this internship and start gaining some experience. I'm now taking a Financial Business class at the Kentfield College Of Marin, Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm happy that this program is helping me find internships to gain experience in jobs. This internship is called Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary; they help preserve nature and wild life, I can't wait to start. I'm preparing for the finals test and I hope I pass.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Fifteenth Week Of Pathways

12/6/2013 My fifteenth week of Pathways was very busy. This whole week in my Basic Fuels class, my class and I have been stripping two cars of their parts. We finished one car this week, and what was left of it was just the skeleton. We are still working on the second car and it will be finished soon. In my Automotive Collision class my classmate and I are using sealant to cover holes that were made on the fender from a car accident. We applied the sealant last week and started sanding this week, so it's smooth and level with the metal. After that, he wants the fender painted. This week at my internship I was giving cars basic check ups and learned how to order parts for cars, when the shop doesn't have them in stock. I can't wait for next semester because I want to take a business class at the Kentfield campus of the College or Marin. I'm thankful for the help this Pathways program is giving me.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Fourteenth Week Of Pathways

My fourteenth week of auto repair was fun. I finally got my hands on the emissions computer and learned how to reset the car engine light by dialing up codes that you add to the emissions computer. There are specific keys with codes for specific cars that the computer reads. My teacher was showing and helping us along the way to get a better understanding of what we're doing. There's steps to do to reset the car, you can't just plug in the emissions computer in and expect it to restart. You always have to make sure that the car is in good running conditions before restarting the car. A group of students and I restarted a Volkswagen car, that took at least an hour to learn how to use the emissions computer.

Thirteenth Week

My thirteenth week of pathways was fun. I'm studying about the cars computer, when a problem occurs in the vehicle, the computer turns on the check engine light. The teacher told us that next week we will learn how to use the emissions computer that allows me to check the cars status and allows me to reset the cars computer with a push of a button. The class is getting more technical and I like that. Everything is going smooth and I'm not getting as dirty as before, we're getting more in the technical side of automotive vehicles. Pathways is great, I appreciate all the help this program has giving me.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Twelfth Week Of Pathways

My twelfth week of Pathways was really interesting. I'm learning about the electrical circuits that run through the car. I learned how electrical currents are passed through the circuit board. That's like a little computer that directs electricity to the correct places, for example, if its night time and you want the head lights on, when you you switch on the lights, a signal from the switch goes to the circuit board and then sends electricity to the lights. I learned that if the lights or anything electrical doesn't function. For example, the radio, it could be that one of the fuses from the electrical board burned out that connects the battery to the radio, or the radio is not working. This week at the shop, I helped Frank with the basic tune ups as always. Frank is also showing me more new things about tuning up cars.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Eleventh Week Of Pathways

11/1/2013 My eleventh week in Pathways was good. My test results from my auto collision class last week came in and I did pretty good, I got a C minus. I went to A & A Auto shop this Wednesday and worked there from 8 in the morning through 5 in the afternoon. I helped give 3 cars basic check ups by checking all the basic fuels and gave recommendations for the car on the invoice. I'm getting used to the auto shop and I'm following orders. I have been told that I have been doing a good job and that the shop would like to have somebody like me in the auto shop because I show effort and I get the work done. I was happy when I heard this and I felt good about myself. I feel that I'm getting my work done and that I'm staying focused.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Tenth Week Of Pathways

My tenth week of Pathways was great. The counselor in my high school recommended me to an internship at A & A Automotive. Its a shop located in Sausalito. I met with Mike, the owner of the shop. We talked about the days I'm available and what I can bring to the shop. I said that I'm a good listener and that I like hands-on working. I go to the auto shop every Wednesday now and I think it's a cool shop. I met with Frank, he has worked for A & A Automotive since 1976. He used to go to IVC as a student and he also taught classes over there as well. He's helping me give cars basic check-ups and tune-ups. He talked about the invoice paper that he uses to write down recommendations and costs of parts fixed. He writes down basically everything he does in the shop. I checked the fuels in the car, the brakes, and the tires' condition, the wind-shield wipers' condition, and all the lights of the car.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Ninth Week Of Pathways

10/18/2013 My ninth week of Pathways was okay. I took a test in class on Tuesday in my Auto Collision Repair Class and another test on Thursday in my basic fuels class. There were some questions on the test that the teacher hadn't covered. The students that stayed in that classroom longer had more knowledge than me. I asked the teacher about those questions that he didn't cover and he said to not worry and to answer as much as I could, because he knows this is my first year of auto class. I think I did really well on the test because I found questions that I already knew the answers to, so I felt comfortable. I hope to get an A or an B on the tests I've taken.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Eight Week Of Pathways

10/11/2013 My eighth week was great. I'm taking notes in class and studying a lot for the midterm test that will take place in class this coming Tuesday. The test will check how much I learned in the auto shop so I'm going to try my best to get everything correct. This week in my class, I learned about keeping records and invoices with you at all times, writing down everything you did with detail to help your customer with his or her vehicle. The instructor also taught us how the invoice form should be set up. I'm going to try my best to pass this test. This ACRT class is really fun. I'm learning new things every week.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Seventh Week Of Pathways

10/4/2013 My seventh week of Pathways was really good. I learned how the PCV pipes in an automotive vehicle works. I helped another student in class this week; I helped him sand the hood of the car with an air sander. By sanding the car, I found punctured holes in the hood, so I used car sealant to fill in and cover the holes.

Friday, September 27, 2013

My Sixth Week Of Pathways

9/27/13 My sixth week of Pathways was great, I was learning about how the fuel injection system works and how it creates energy for the car to move forward. We learned how the fuel injection system creates nox, which is the pressurized energy that the motor releases. We continued to practice how to use the smog machine that tests how much smog the car releases. We studied more about what smog is made of and took notes. Also, I helped a student sand the back bumper of his car. I used the air sander to sand the paint off the bumper because he was looking for any dents and wanted the bumper repainted to the original color. The teacher was happy when I was helping around the shop. This week was great. I'm learning how to fix car parts and checking where to check where it's damaged and check if it's possible to fix at the shop.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Fifth Week Of Pathways

My fifth week in the auto collision class was great. I learned how to check the smog a car produces. Everybody in my class had the chance to use the smog tool that goes into the exhaust pipe of the car. We read how much smog the car produced, checked if it produced a lot of smog, and if it gave out too much, it wouldn't pass because it's bad for the environment. We all took notes and studied the car intake, and about the use of the intake valves. We learned about the basic tools used in the shop, and the safety instructions of handling certain tools that could be dangerous if not used properly. I'm studying and learning new things when I'm in that classroom.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Fourth Week Of Pathways

9/13/13 My fourth week of the Auto Collision Repair class was pretty cool. I learned how to use the air sander gun to remove the paint off the car instead of using the actual sander that rotates in a circular motion with a layer of sand paper. I learned how to properly use the air sander, like how far away to be from the part of the car I want to sand and how to hold the air sander gun at a certain angle to blow off the paint. We learned about the safety procedures for this type of tool. We would wear a face mask and gloves. I learned how much of the fine grain should be used. I also learned that when you use the air sander gun, it shouldn't be used on high power because you can use up all of the grain at a higher rate.

Friday, September 6, 2013

Third Week Of Pathways

9/6/13 This third week of the Auto Collision Repair class was really fun. I have a friend there now and he brought his car in for a check up. I checked the spark plugs in his car to see if they were in good condition. The first three were fine, and the last one was damaged and broken. I had to replace that damaged spark plug with a new one. The teacher taught us how the alignment machine works, to align the car's wheels. I started getting used to standing up for hours in the shop because in the beginning it was really hard for me to stand up for that long. I made real good friends who were also students that had more experience in the shop that helped me along he way. By far this was a good week in the Auto Shop.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Second Week Of Pathways

8/30/13 This second week of Pathways was great. I'm learning new and useful rhings in my Auto Collision Repair class. I'm learning how to use a machine to replace a tire. This week I finally lifted my first car with the car lift. I learned how to change a manual car into an automatic vehicle. I made new friends in class that have been in this class before. They helped me when the teacher is busy helping another student. I can't wait to get my hands inside the engine and see how the engine works. I'm having a great experience in this class. This class will be very helpful in the future.

Friday, August 23, 2013

First Week Of Pathways

August 23, 2013 The Pathways program is very helpful to me. This program helped me with finding my passion and a potential career. They are loaning me books for my classes that I couldn't afford to purchase at this time. This program is really good and I recommend this program to anybody that needs help. My future goal is to find a career that can help me afford my needs in the future. For example, I would like a nice house and a car. I decided to join Pathways because the program offered me help with applying to College Of Marin and finding classes I find interesting to take. I'm looking forward to getting the best out of this program. I want to achieve my goal and probably find other careers that I might also find intresting. I hope to gain the experience from this training. I would really like to learn more about the body of an auto in this intership and become a good mechanic. I'm taking an Auto Collision Repair class at Indian Valley College in Novato. This week I learned how to learned how to repair a car's window and how to drain and change the oil. I'm also taking a Fuel Systems class. in that class we leaned about safety procedures in the auto shop lab.