Beneath the undercarriage of South Campus student Aiden Buckley’s blue Ford, automotive program students look at the car’s rear differential as their instructor Tony Edwards steers them toward the correct diagnosis.
“I’ve never worked off a lesson plan,” Edwards said. “I try to be flexible in case one of you show up and say, ‘Hey man, my car broke down on the way here. Can we fix it? Can we look at it?’”
Edwards said he teaches students real-world problems hands-on during class by allowing them to work on each other’s vehicles.
“The sense of accomplishment that you get from knowing I helped that car get back on the road, that’s a lot more valuable to me than just ‘Oh, I know how to take that apart and put it back together,’” he said.
The garage stays busy with students and instructors shuffling between tool carts and open hoods. For a good number of students, this is their first step into the industry. For some instructors, like Edwards, this has been their routine for decades.
The automotive program is split into two, the general automotive program and the Toyota T-TEN program. Jim Martin, a retired instructor, began teaching the general program in 1993 and helped establish the Toyota T-Ten on campus.
“It added a level of legitimacy that the automotive program never had before,” Martin said. “Before that we were just … grease monkeys.”
Students enrolled in the Toyota T-TEN 18-month program learn six days a week, three days in class, and three days working for Toyota. T-TEN students are interviewed and must pass a test, while the general program does not have any special requirements.
“Not all of them stay in the field. They’re just here to learn how to work on their own cars,” Edwards said. “Some have aspirations of becoming their own business owners, and some just want to work on cars for a living.”
Student Nathan Ramirez will complete the automotive program this spring. However, before enrolling at TCC two years ago, he toured the Universal Technical Institute in Irving. He said these schools offer accelerated nine-month programs that can cost up to $50,000 for a person to graduate with only a certificate.
“The reason I’m here is cause I want to be master tech certified,” Ramirez said.
A Master Automotive Technician certification requires two years of experience and passing eight tests.
The two-year automotive program counted toward Ramirez’s certificate requirement. So, he said he hopes to graduate with an associate degree, a Master Certified Automotive Technician certification and two years of experience.
“Before joining the program, all I did was build motors. I didn’t do anything else before that. It was just maintenance stuff. No diagnosing [cars] at all,” Ramirez said. “I’ve learned a lot from just being able to build. Now, I can actually diagnose. I can actually figure out what’s going on in the vehicle.”
Through the program, students can apply for dealership internships. Student Jesus Galvan said before joining the program he tried to secure something within the industry. He had prior experience and was hoping it gave him an in for interning.
“I wasn’t going to school, and I was trying to apply but they wouldn’t accept me,” he said.
Galvan started in January 2025 and by the fall he decided to apply for a scholarship that also provided him with an internship.
“I actually got the internship because of this program, and it’s a part of Autobahn,” Galvan said. “So, it’s a really good program. I don’t really think I would have gotten it without this program.”
Each semester, instructors survey students about their goals, and they said sometimes the public misunderstands what modern automotive work requires, making it difficult to feel accomplished. As vehicles become more advanced, repairs do too.
“It takes a lot of intelligence to work on a car nowadays,” Edwards said.
Waiting lists of students form to register for classes each semester, but the programs’ availability is limited due to restricted space.
South Campus President Dan Lufkin has been one of the program’s strongest supporters and Edwards said Lufkin wants to introduce an electric vehicle program, but it would require a new building.
A new 135,000 square foot building was in the programming stage and even allocated bond funding in 2019. However, post-pandemic inflation played a role in halting the project because the cost projections rose from $44 million to $70 million, Edwards said.
Even though they’re working out of the same garage since 1993, many students attributed the automotive program and Edward’s teachings to their success, not just in their career but life, too.
“Tony right there, he’s helped me out a lot,” Ramirez said. “He’s a good instructor, and I’ve learned a lot beyond just being able to work on cars.”
During a lecture before heading to the garage, student Aaron Hernandez asked Edwards for guidance on how to better manage the stress that comes with the industry, so one doesn’t fall into addiction to cope.
And Edwards said it’s important for one to realize if they are ready to manage themselves in whatever they take on.
“You have to learn self-control,” Edwards said. “It’s not just about automotive. It’s about life, right? … I constantly try to remember stories to help share true life with you.
