Agoura High auto class hits the road




REVVED  UP- Agoura  High automotive technology students John  Theodosiou,  left,  and Brandon  Patterson,  right,  join teacher John Andersen in New York for a national competition.

REVVED UP- Agoura High automotive technology students John Theodosiou, left, and Brandon Patterson, right, join teacher John Andersen in New York for a national competition.


Agoura High School students John “JD” Theodosiou and Brandon Patterson and their auto class teacher John Andersen may not have taken first place in the 2008 National Automotive Technology Competition in New York City, but the three still felt like winners.

The competition was held at the Javits Center on March 25 and 26. The boys qualified for the competition in January when they beat out 50 other schools in Los Angeles County in the race to the national championship.

The competition, which is the auto industry’s largest schooltowork initiative, is a test of skill, a measure of knowledge and a race against the clock all rolled into one, according to Charlie Gill, executive director of the Greater Los Angeles New Car Dealers Association, one of the event sponsors.

Thirty-seven teams of the nation’s best high school automotive education students competed for the title of “Best Automotive Technician” in the United States and Canada, Gill said.

While a rank in the top 10 of the contest would have been welcome, Theodosiou said that competing against other skilled students and making the finals for two consecutive years was gratifying enough.

“It’s the second time I’ve been to the nationals and the second time I’ve actually been on a plane,” Theodosiou said.

Theodosiou did beat out the competition in the written test area and claimed the title of West Coast winner of Automotive Service Excellence, a national title he shares with an East Coast counterpart.

“Anyone who goes to the competition (knows) it is quite an accomplishment,” Andersen said.

The top team hailed from Toronto, Theodosiou said.

“It was a great experience,” Patterson said. “I got to see the big city and compete with top schools in the country.”

The threepart competition includes the written test taken by students in each of their qualifying states and a twopart handson component. Work stations tested the students’ knowledge of the details of automotive technology, including emissions control systems, alignment, electrical test equipment, airbag components, oscilloscope usage and mechanical measurement equipment.

Each team of students was then assigned an automobile rigged to malfunction in a variety of ways. Using a repair order with actual customer complaints, the student teams had to diagnose and fix various problems within an allotted time, using the manufacturers’ tools. Each “bug” correctly diagnosed and repaired was worth a certain number of points, depending on the level of difficulty, Gill said.

To prepare for the competition, students trained at local new car dealerships under the guidance of master technicians, Gill said.

The Agoura High team was assigned to work on a 2007 Mini Cooper convertible. Theodosiou and Patterson trained with technicians at Bob Smith BMW in Calabasas.

“Although JD and Brandon didn’t win the national competition, they worked hard and accrued a lot of valuable experience going through the process to get there,” said Linda Theodosiou, JD’s mother. “I would have to say John Andersen was responsible for most of it. He is an extraordinary teacher. It is his nature, not just his profession. He and his wife, Joy, put a lot of personal time and effort on evenings and weekends toward keeping the boys on track and clearing the way for them to do their very best.”

“We’re hoping to repeat our success and go back next year,” Andersen said.

Patterrson and senior Matt Bezkrovny recently qualified for a separate event, the Ford/AAA state competition scheduled for May 8 and 9. The students completed their written exam in February, and the 10 highest-scoring students statewide advanced to the competition with a hands-on round similar to the National Automotive Technology Competition.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Andersen said.

Theodosiou was ineligible for the Ford/AAA contest because he competed in 2007, Andersen said.

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