An auto repair shop owner in Gainesville, Florida, used her facility to help introduce young girls to automotive work, reports WUFT News.
Rachael Wacha, owner of City Auto Repair, partnered with Dream on Purpose—a nonprofit with the goal of empowering girls ages 11-18—to host the Cupcakes and Conversations: Car Care 101 event at her shop.
Wacha inherited the shop from her father, who she gained much of her automotive training from. But for many young girls, they don’t have that sort of opportunity to gain the skills Wacha did, which motivated her to help with the class.
“And so that’s why I think I’m passionate about doing this, because I want everybody to have the resource – and that resource be themselves,” told Wacha.
A group of nine girls gathered at Wacha’s shop, along with Steffanie Crockett, a Dream on Purpose board member who grew up with a technician father and has worked for dealerships and service centers.
Crockett went over car fluids, what air filters look like, and what different symbols on the dashboard mean. Wacha then showed the kids how to check a car’s oil level, where the spare tire is typically stored, how to measure the thread of a tire, and jump start a battery.
After the demonstrations and some cupcakes, the girls were then quizzed on everything they learned. Many parents in attendance could be seen taking notes on everything that was taught, too.
“I didn’t know the different fluids of cars before and stuff like that,” said Meredith Fuller, a 17-year-old senior high school student. “It’s helping me feel a lot more confident in my ability as a human with a car to take care of it.”
