Lakewood is all about opening opportunities for students and helping them acquire skills that will help them in the future.  

This is the first year that Lakewood will be offering students a chance to join a brand-new automotive course that teaches them about general welding, auto, and electrical work concerning mechanics. 

Lakewood’s AI teacher Matt Cortez will be teaching the class.  

The course is focused on how to teach students about the mechanics of cars, and how all the parts work together. They have recently done a lesson on how oil journeys through the car and how it affects the engine. Having lessons like this helps prepare them for the future and gives them an extra head-start when they enter the workforce.  

The course is also centered around class collaboration and working together. For example, each of the desks in the classroom was built by the students themselves, which took them 2-3 days to assemble.  

Some of the equipment that is used in the course includes but is not limited to, welding machines, air purifiers, and a Honda GX-120. All the equipment the students use was graciously supplied by Pinellas County Schools.  

This program works in partnership with Pinellas Technical College to attract students who are interested in trade schools, rather than the traditional college university setting.

“There are kids who really like the trade and want to go to trade school or the kids who are 19 and don’t want to do college. What PTC (Pinellas Technical College) really wants is the former, they want a lot of kids who are really good at trades. So, the best way to do that is to start in High School.” Cortez stated. 

This course collaboration with PTC has helped students gain knowledge that will take them far in the workforce, without having to spend exuberant amounts of money. 

This course allows students to know that they have other options than just going to college and that whatever they choose to do in the future Lakewood will help them be successful.