Mr Varrelmann
Advanced Automotive
Imagine being the only girl in garage of guys, and you’d have me. But, Mr. Varrelmann doesn’t discriminate. And just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I’ll get special treatment…I’ll still have to get greasy and get under the hood.
I came into Automotive my junior year, ready to learn. But when I began to learn what we’d have to do, I asked myself, How the hell am I going to be able to do that? I became stubborn and unwilling to do get my hands dirty. But Mr. Varrelmann kept pushing me. He wanted me to suck it up, and do the work.
Then, one day when he was demonstrating how to remove and reinstall an EGR value, I realized I knew what needed to be taken apart, and which tools I’d need for the job. All that time, saying I could never do it, it was too hard…and all that time, Mr. Varrelmann disagreed. And he was right.
All of Mr. Varrelmann’s encouragement and patience he had paid off; I learned how a car was put together, the signs of problems, and how to fix them. From that moment on, I was no longer afraid to ask questions, and no longer unwilling to do the work; I had become just one of the guys. I had become an Arrowhead Mechanic.
Mr. Varrelmann is underappreciated. He gives us everyday life skills, needed to make it in the world. What I’ve learned from him will last longer than anything that comes out of a textbook. So thank you, Mr. Varrelmann, for being my teacher, my educator, and for giving me a chance at a better life.