By Diedra Eby
“I’d roll around in oil all day if I could!”
Chloe Colton wrenching on an engine. Photo by Diedra Eby.
Chloe Colton is an enthusiastic student currently enrolled in Pima Community College’s Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree program in the Automotive Technology department.
This particular two-year program will lead Colton to a job as Technician or Mechanic where she can, in fact, roll around in oil all day working on cars like the 2021 BRZ, located on the floor of the building right now.
If you head over to the 50,000 square foot T Building of the Downtown Campus Automotive Technology and Innovation Center, from the second floor you might get a chance to watch her work, though she won’t be rolling around in oil because the engines are oil-free. It is, in fact, a surprisingly pristine garage.
View from Second Floor Automotive Technology and Innovation Center. Photo Courtesy Kedar Moye.
Colton will learn how to build a small engine from base to finished product in her virtual class on D2L before moving to the bench on the floor where she’ll do the real-life build. These could be engines like a lawn mower or a leaf blower or similar small engine.
There’s a section for coolant flushes where the machine sucks out the old coolent and puts in new coolent. The assembly stays sealed preventing air bubbles from entering. This section is also pristine; no sign of any actual fluids on the floor or on the hoses.
Not everything is about the engines, though. Class 129 (accessories) is an interiors class, removing door panels and other interior elements.
After use, the cars are then donated, auctioned off or destroyed. Of the cars on the floor, Colton worked on the Dodge Challenger and the Jeep in her three classes. The Spider and the 1990 Miata are two of her favorites.
Colton grew up working on cars with her dad, and family members working on their own cars, she was always around it. From her passion in high school, she got into the automotive class and stuck to the teacher’s side.
“The oil changes are my favorite part,” she said.
BRZ in the garage. Photo by Diedra Eby.
Now, she’s got another semester to go before she becomes a technician, with hopes to eventually open her own shop. Colton’s not afraid of the hard or dirty work, noting that she didn’t mind sweeping the shop for hours on end at her last job.
“Even though it was boring. It was what had to be done,” she said.
For Colton, the work isn’t just about cars — it’s about building a future doing something she genuinely loves.
Chloe Colton. Photo by Diedra Eby.