Condit Ford staff teaches car detailing at Willowglen Academy

Sparta -On July 21, Willowglen Academy students received a hands-on, career building class by staff members from Condit Ford. Willowglen Academy of Sparta hosted a car detailing class presented by Ed Gardner, Parts and Service Director and Robert Kirkpatrick, Warranty Administrator at Condit Ford. The class, which was held at the academy campus in Sparta, is part of the Transition Program which exposes students to diverse carrier options through hands-on experiences. The students received step-by-step instruction on the process of car detailing from both the experts. "When the students were able to visit Condit Ford last winter and spring, they wanted to learn a skill that they could use as a future vocation, so when I spoke to the staff from Condit, they were very receptive with not only coming to our school, but with teaching this skill to our students," said Candace Stout, the Transition Coordinator of the Pre-Vocationally based program at Willowglen Academy. Willowglen is a treatment and educational facility for youth with special needs. The students live in its two campuses in Sussex County, in group homes and in private homes within the community. As part of the New Jersey Core Content Standards, students are required to study Career Exploration, in order to establish goals and objectives for their future. This course is also used to motivate the students to work on their academic subjects in order to achieve their goals. Hands-on experience, like learning a skill from key members of Condit staff, is part of a three-step program that includes life skills training, career exploration training, and hands on pre-vocational application. As part of the Transition Program, the students visit local businesses to learn firsthand about different job positions as a way to help them with future career choices. In the past, the academy also has hosted guest speakers who presented other career options to the students. However, this is the first time that representatives from a company came to our school to teach our students a skill. "I was very excited to be able to come over and demonstrate the techniques and give guidance. Several students showed great promise, and once fully trained would be a great asset to any employer," said Ed Gardner, from Condit Ford. Six students, ages 14 to 17, worked with the instructors from Condit Ford on the professional techniques to do the car detailing. "There are two ways that I always know that the (students) enjoyed the experience: one is when they don't want to stop, and the other one is when they are still talking about it three days later. It's been more than three days, and they are still talking about it. In fact two students wanted me to add this to their career profile," said Stout.