Ingersoll Rand, Nissan jump start Indian Land High’s auto tech program

Students in the automotive technology program at Indian Land High School will have new equipment and supplies to work with, thanks to a recent grant by Ingersoll Rand and a vehicle donation from Nissan North America.

The $10,000 grant, awarded by Ingersoll Rand – a global leader in power tools and the official power tool provider of NASCAR, will be used for improvements to the automotive classrooms and courses with updated equipment, supplies, instructor training and curricula.

“As part of writing the grant, we had to determine what was needed the most in bringing the automotive technology program up towards National Standards and build up to earning NATEF Certification,” said Stan Moczulski, Automotive Technology instructor at ILHS.

NATEF credentials are an industry standard, which ILHS does not currently have.

“The tools and equipment purchased will help to bring the program closer to meeting that standard and all in our industry agree that all automotive programs need to meet this,” said Moczulski.

“It will allow us to teach more of the basic skills required to prepare students for the world of work.”

Moczulski, in his 21st year of teaching Automotive Technology, said he found South Carolina to be a challenge, after having taught his first 20 years in Pennsylvania, where career and technical education programs were fully funded.

“Career and technical education requires a larger dollar amount to properly run and expose students to the tools and technologies that today’s transportation industry needs,” he said.

So, when he found out about the Ingersoll Rand grant through discussions with other automotive instructors from around the country in August 2015, he jumped on the opportunity.

“When I did my research and found it was true, I contacted Ingersoll Rand via email and they explained the reasons and the (application) process,” he said.

With the assistance of several other teachers at ILHS, Moczulski described the purposes and community demographics, as well as who it would help.

“We had to identify who, what, why, where and when the funds would be used to help improve the automotive technology program at Indian Land,” he said.

In mid-December, they found out they were one of 50 schools selected to receive the grant.

“There was quite a bit of cheering and high-fiving when we received the word,” Moczulski said.

In addition to receiving the grant, the students will also have the opportunity for increased hands-on learning thanks to Nissan North America, which recently donated a 2006 Infinity M35X.

“(With this car), the students will be exposed to disassembly and reassembly of components using proper procedures, learning about electricity and driveability issues and select advanced students will take these entry level skills to the next level as upperclassmen,” Moczulski said.

He also sets the cars up with an obvious customer complaint and then lets the students diagnose the problem, giving them a real world challenge that they will have to repair to industry standards.

“The grant and the vehicle donation are a boost to what I can teach students,” Moczulski said.

“Students preparing to enter this path need a good foundation to prepare for post-secondary education in Automotive Technology. My goal is to prepare them for that next level of learning.”

This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Ingersoll Rand, Nissan jump start Indian Land High’s auto tech program."