The College will hold Commencement at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 22, at the Minneapolis Convention Center
Dunwoody College of Technology, a private, non-profit institution and leader in technical education, is honored to announce that Cathy Heying, a 2010 graduate of Dunwoody’s Automotive Service Technology program, and the founder and Executive Director of The Lift Garage, will deliver the keynote address during this year’s Commencement Exercises.
The College will honor the 2024–2025 graduating class at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 22, at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Click here for information about Dunwoody’s Commencement Ceremony.
About Cathy Heying
Cathy Heying is the Founder and Executive Director of The Lift Garage, a nonprofit auto repair shop that provides low-cost car repair for low-income Minnesotans.
Born and raised in a town of 800 people in Northeast Iowa, Heying holds a BA in Social Work from Loras College in Dubuque, IA, and an MA in Pastoral Ministry from St. Mary’s University in Winona, MN. She moved to Minneapolis in 1997 to pursue a career in the church and social service fields, focusing on housing and homelessness.
It was during her work in this field that Heying began to see how lack of access to reliable transportation is deeply linked to poverty. At the same time, she saw that there was a gaping need for affordable car repair, and she set out to do something about it.
With that vision in mind, Heying enrolled at Dunwoody College in 2008 at the age of 38 to pursue an A.A.S. degree in Automotive Service Technology. She wanted to acquire the technical skills needed to start a garage that could provide affordable car repair to people in need.
In April 2013, three years after graduating from Dunwoody, Heying opened The Lift Garage in a vacant bay at a car wash in South Minneapolis. There was one employee — also a Dunwoody grad.
Unlike most garages, The Lift is set up to operate as a nonprofit, with grants and donations covering the bulk of each customer’s repair costs.
By 2018, The Lift Garage moved into a new five-bay facility on Lake Street in Minneapolis, which is now able to service about 140 cars a month. In 2020, the Lift purchased the building and added an addition. The Lift celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2023. Today, the organization employes 16 people and has a budget of $2 million.
In 2015, Heying was named both a CNN Hero and the Irwin Tools Tradesperson of the Year. She continues to advocate for affordable car repair to ensure safe cars and secure lives for all.
ABOUT DUNWOODY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
Founded in 1914, Dunwoody College of Technology is the only private, not-for-profit technical college in the Upper Midwest. Having provided hands-on, applied technical education to more than 200,000 individuals, Dunwoody is the college for experimenters and makers, a place where the curious and the confident learn by doing.
Located in Minneapolis, Dunwoody offers a unique campus experience in dedicated labs, studios, and shops that treat students like future professionals from day one.
With certificates, associates, and bachelor’s degrees in more than 40 majors — including engineering, robotics, design and other STEM-related fields — Dunwoody challenges students to come determined and graduate destined.