FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com FEBRUARY 12, 2015 • The Queens Courier 31 Whitestone auto center grooms new generation of tech-savvy auto workers BY ERI C JANKIE WICZ ejankiewicz@queenscourier.com @EricJankiewicz Don’t call these car-loving high school kids grease monkeys. On Feb. 10, students from Thomas Edison High School broke out their laptops to fix a Lexus SUV in a timed competition that pitted them against 12 other high schools in the greater New York area, testing their skills with computers as much as with wrenches. The event was hosted by the Center for Automotive Education and Training in Whitestone and winners are awarded scholarships for continued education in the auto world. But the center’s bigger goal with such events is to remedy an industry that is facing an aging workforce that isn’t being replenished by a new generation of skilled workers. “There are more laptops here than there are cars,” said Nick Crispe, a spokesman for the center. “There’s still an engine in there but it’s not the greasy, dirty environment that it used to be.” Pairs of high school kids rushed from laptops to the cars they were tasked with fixing. The two Thomas Edison High School students Jose Sanchez and Christopher Sookraj hopped between a diagnostics list to their laptop, which Martin A. was connected to the Lexus that they needed to fix as part of the competition. The event was meant to mimic a modern car dealer shop. Funeral Home L.L.C. – Call for a FREE Planning Guide – • Our Services are available in all areas • Large Parking Facilities at all Locations • Personal Service, 24 Hours a Day • Burial and Cremation Services Available • Family Owned and Operated • FDIC Insured Pre-Plan Accounts • Pre-Arrangements Available • Out of Town Service, Call Us First • Shipping Specialists John A. Golden: Member of K. of C. and C*KHS; Thomas A. Golden III: Member AOH, KHS (Owner, Operators) 149-20 Northern Boulevard • Flushing • 718-359-6300 10-25 150th Street • Whitestone • 718-359-1122 36-46 Bell Boulevard • Bayside • 718-428-2210 Please Visit Our Website @ www.gleasonsfuneral.com Martin A. Gleason Funeral Home L.L.C.: The Preferred Choice As the technology under a car’s hood continues to look more like a computer’s hardware, the industry’s demand for tech-savvy workers has increased. The old image of a grease-caked mechanic is no longer accurate as cars become more computerized with electric cars and advanced clean-diesel engines. “I was iffy about this at first,” Sanchez said. “But then I got really into it and now I want to get into this career.” Even the word mechanic has fallen out of use in the industry for the preferred term, technician. Automotive schools characterize this time period as confusion and the average age of technicians – formerly known as mechanics – is nearing the late 40s in Ford, General Motors and Chrysler Group, according to USA Today. But Crispe and others believe that as the image of cars in popular culture begins to align itself more closely with technology to become the Smart Car, a new wave of students can be attracted into the industry. “There was a stigma that stopped the younger generation from joining this area,” Crispe said. “If you love cars and technology this is the perfect career now.” Thomas Edison’s team didn’t win the competition, but they left the event with new-found inspiration about a career that will be a big part of the future. The winning teamed hailed from Orange- Ulster BOCES in upstate Goshen. THE COURIER/Photo by Eric Jankiewicz Jose Sanchez and Christopher Sookraj compete in an automobile competition. OBITUARY Jessie Casimir, magazine ad sales manager Jessie Casimir, 50, a senior sales manager at a magazine and a devoted mother, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Feb. 2. A long-time Briarwood resident, she was raised in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Born March 14, 1964 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Ms. Casimir was the cherished daughter of Jean Alexandre and Zulka Casimir. Ms. Casimir was the Senior Sales Manager at Family Publications in Manhattan, where she successfully displayed her ability to recruit new advertisers. She was known for being passionate, dedicated, and sympathetic, family members recalled. Ms. Casimir was also known for her wit and willingness to help others. Ms. Casimir loved to feed her quest for knowledge by reading and traveling. A devoted mother and loving sister, she is survived by her son Bradley, 20, and her siblings Patrick, Alexandra, Karen, and Lynn. Ms. Casimir’s viewing will be Friday, Feb. 13 from 6 to 9 p.m and her funeral will be Saturday, Feb. 14 at 9 a.m. Both will take place at her family church, the French Speaking Baptist Church in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. She will be laid to rest at the Hillside Mausoleum at Greenwood Cemetery.
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