Street rod technologies (SRT) students are establishing their place in industry with passion and an applied skill set.

Over the past seven months, Hannah Ganske and Kelvin McLean have refined and defined their skills in restoration, customization and fabrication. Now, they're ready to add the finishing layer to their Lakeland education.

“I'm already done all the course projects, so I'm working on my personal vehicle project now - a 1978 Chevrolet truck,” says McLean who is from Viking, Alta. He has secured a position at Fix Auto, an auto body shop in Camrose. 

"While I'm working on newer models and focusing on auto body work, I'll be using a lot of skills I learned here,” McLean explains. At the end of the program, students are prepared to challenge the 1st-period auto body apprenticeship exam.

His classmate Ganske is adding the last touches to her final course project and intends to restore a 1983 Ford F-150 for her personal vehicle project.  Prior to starting the SRT program, Ganske got a head start in industry at two auto body and collision repair shops, Signatures Collision and Frame in Elk Point and Black Ace Collision in St. Paul. 

She says she hopes to return to Black Ace after graduation. “I wanted to have some knowledge about the trade before I came so I worked over the summer. Black Ace is a very busy shop and they don't just focus on production, they focus on custom work. They were interested in me coming here, so I'm looking forward to graduating and returning to work.”

Both soon-to-be alumni reflected on their experience in Lakeland's specialized program.

Ganske says that she's enjoyed learning the types of welding - MIG and TIG - and the shield project, which is one of three course projects that students can complete at their own pace to showcase the skills they learn throughout the course.

“Like all the other projects, the shield project came with a set of instructions you have to complete. The difference was that I could add my own creative flair to it from airbrushing and use of metals. This project has opened me up to metal art as a hobby.”

McLean adds the program's structure appealed to him with classroom lectures in the morning and hands-on work in the SRT Lab in the afternoon. “We aren't sitting in class all day. We're in the shop right away on day one building our skills.”

The SRT Lab is one of two spaces at the new Energy Park Site that the college unveiled in April 2018.

Photos: Feature-Kelvin McLean with his restoration project - a 1978 Chevrolet truck. Above-Hannah Ganske geared to practice her TIG welding.