On the Road to Success: Nate’s Automotive Internship

When rising senior Nate Cunfer enrolled at Milton Hershey School in seventh grade, he came to school with farming experience due to his time growing up in Lehighton, Pennsylvania.

“I grew up on a farm, so I worked with all types of machinery,” Nate said. “[I’m used to] hard work in general.”

When Nate entered high school, he took his experience working with machinery and expanded his skillset through the automotive career pathway within the school’s Career and Technical Education program. Through hands-on learning experiences and specialized classes, Nick gained basic automotive skills and the ability to act with professionalism.

He also had the opportunity to gain experience in the workplace by completing a summer internship at Faulkner Honda in Harrisburg. Nate completed oil and fluid changes, tire rotations, inspections, air filter changes, and other express lane service items.

“Working [at Faulkner Honda] has been a pretty great experience,” Nate said. “I’ve been able to see how everything works around the shop, and they’re teaching me to be organized.”

Nate also gets the satisfaction of knowing his hard work will positively affect customers.

“It feels good to work on a car [that goes right back to the customer]. You want to put more quality into it,” he said. “You want to make sure everything’s done right, and you just feel responsible.”

After graduation, Nate’s goal is to go to college for aircraft mechanics and possibly become a pilot one day. Thanks to his internship, his goals look more realistic and his future looks a little brighter.

“The internship program is great for us. It helps us get ready for the future and what we want to do. This is my chance to brighten up my future,” Nate added.