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Southwestern Michigan College’s Dowagiac campus hosted 225 Michiana high school students Oct. 3 for Automotive Day.

Participants included Dowagiac, LaPorte, Berrien Springs, Van Buren Tech, Lawton, Buchanan and Elkhart Area Career Center.

Automotive Day introduces students to industry partners who could employ them in the future, such as owner/President Nate Zolman and Vice President Tony Milcherska of Zolman’s Best-One Tire and Auto Care, with 14 locations.

Three of its nine retail locations are overseen by SMC success story Alex Severinghaus, a Brandywine graduate, 2016 SMC graduate and regional manager for Niles, Kalamazoo and Portage.

“Eleven years ago I heard Mr. Zolman present what the company had to offer. I remember attending a Job Fair at SMC. Lo and behold, our retail director reached out to me. Nine years later I’m a retail manager over three locations and oversee about 25 people. When I was here, working two going on three jobs, I slept in my car a lot. It was tough. The struggle was real. It came down to my work ethic.”

Severinghaus joined Zolman in 2016 on Monroe Street in downtown South Bend.

Milcherska joined Zolman 12 years ago after 11 years in the Army and a master’s degree in information systems management to go with his bachelor’s degree in technical management and associate degree in criminal justice.

Milcherska had to drop out of high school at 17 to get a fulltime job while attending night school for his GED.

He was 19 during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, prompting him to join the Army.

Instead of starting family life with his wife and young daughter, his orders sent him to Germany for a six-month deployment that turned into 15 with the invasion of Baghdad, Iraq.

“We had our second daughter in Germany,” Milcherska said. “Our son was born in Georgia. I made staff sergeant in four years. That part of my life was hardest, but also the best because it changed the trajectory of my life. I got commissioned as a communications officer stationed in Arizona and continued to my master’s degree. My daughter went to 10 schools during my 11 years in the military.”

“Zolman in 2013 was a different challenge for me,” Milcherska said. “It’s for profit, not mission success. I analyzed all the systems, processes and procedures, sales strategy, the inventory. The military taught me teambuilding and always bringing people below you in rank up to your rank. That worked well on the civilian side. A lot of people I mentored went from tire technicians to sales managers.”

Zolman, founded in 1978 by Nate’s father, employs 200. “If you don’t want to be an auto mechanic or lube tech,” that’s okay,” Milcherska said. “The industry still needs you in some capacity — executive leadership, store managers, warehouse operations, truck drivers, accountants, truck mechanics, commercial tire techs, trailer repair.

“It’s work ethic. If you’re willing to work, you will be successful. If not, you probably won’t. It drives me crazy when employees are content with where they’re at. In the military, everyone wants to progress.”

“We’re growing,” Zolman said, “because we hire for character.

Life decisions you make outside of work or school impact your future, income and social status positively or negatively.”

Zolman alternates between being a blunt boss with advice on navigating the real world of work and a demanding dad of five children ages 20-26 figuring out college and careers in different ways.

Son Brock, who started college at SMC, is four years into working his way up in the family business to become the third generation.

Scott Klepinger’s Modern Muscle Car Factory (MMCF) in Elkhart is an automotive shop specializing in turning classic cars into fuel-injected hot rods, from complete modern engine and transmission swaps to modern suspension and brakes.

Klepinger attended Elkhart Career Center and worked at dealerships until opening MMCF in 1995.

Automotive Technology Professor Kyle Schrock said, “I like to think of us as a trade school at a college campus. We offer a certificate — a one-year degree — and a (two-year) associate degree, because it’s something to build on. I have an associate degree. The second year is a lot more in-depth and hands-on with diagnostics and electrical problems.”

Schrock said the certificate curriculum consists of nine classes — eight automotive plus trade math.

“We use math all the time,” he said. “I have to know geometry to figure out cubic inches on an engine.”

The associate degree encompasses English and speech classes. “You’ve got to be able to talk to customers or other mechanics,” he said. “Auto 255 is a 240-hour internship, getting paid at an automotive job. Students are allowed to work on their own vehicles. We want you to use the shop and to work on cars. We also have an auto club.”

Visitors lunched on pizza in Mathews Conference Center East and toured housing and the Student Activity Center.

Students interested in SMC’s automotive program can find more information at https://swmich.edu/academics/degrees-and-certificates/automotive-technology/ and apply for free at https://swmich.edu/admissions/apply/