\u201cI picked the T-TEN automotive program because Toyota has been a part of my life since I was young,\u201d Owen Becker said. \u201cI knew I wanted to pursue it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After graduating from ROCORI High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota in 2024, Becker chose to attend Dunwoody College of Technology specifically because of its reputation and partnership with Toyota. He will graduate from Dunwoody\u2019s T-TEN (Toyota Technician Training & Education Network) program with an A.A.S. degree this spring and is already employed as an automotive service technician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Becker was a Toyota enthusiast from an early age. He often accompanied his father, who was a service technician at St. Cloud Toyota, and is now the Service and Parts Director at the dealership, to see cars being worked on in the shop and get a view of the latest models on display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His parents even threw him a Toyota-themed birthday party when he was eight years old, complete with his own service advisor shirt (made by his mom) and Toyota dealership business cards with his name on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For his hard work, determination, and willingness to lead in class, Becker was chosen by his instructors to receive an Academic Excellence Award this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Criteria for the award includes maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or higher, demonstrating a solid work ethic, extra-curricular participation, collegiate camaraderie, pursuit of excellence, and self-awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOwen started the Toyota T-TEN program with us almost 2 years ago,\u201d said Todd Tucker, one of the automotive instructors who nominated Becker for the award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe was already working as a technician at St. Cloud Toyota, which meant that he had a lot of industry experience and knowledge, especially Toyota knowledge,\u201d Tucker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tucker was impressed with Becker\u2019s willingness to share his shop experience with the class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe would happily and enthusiastically step in and fill in any gaps I might have left, without any hint of pride in himself,\u201d Tucker said. \u201cHis humility opened up opportunities to mentor the other students in the class and continually helped me create more relevant and realistic experiences in the lab.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The T-TEN program offers four categories of Toyota Expert level certification and prepares students to test for ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) certifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUpon graduation next month, he will have passed all 8 automotive ASE exams, plus advanced level L1 and L3 exams,\u201d Tucker said. \u201cAt Toyota, he will only need two more years of experience before being considered a Master Diagnostic Technician, which is the highest level a Toyota technician can attain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hands-on work suits Becker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor as long as I can remember, I wanted to understand how everything around me worked. Working with my hands was a necessity,\u201d Becker said. <\/ins><\/p>\n\n\n\n His favorite class projects were any that allowed him to get under the hood of a vehicle to remove and replace parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when he\u2019s not at work or in school?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI take my passion for cars \u2014 and really anything with an engine \u2014 home during my free time and spend time tinkering and working on different projects,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Becker credits his dad as inspiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe gave me big shoes to fill and is always pushing me to fill them,\u201d Becker said. \u201cI\u2019ve always looked up to him as a role model and hope to reach his level someday.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI picked the T-TEN automotive program because Toyota has been a part of my life since I was young,\u201d Owen Becker said. \u201cI knew I wanted to pursue it.\u201d After graduating from ROCORI High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota in 2024, Becker chose to attend Dunwoody College of Technology specifically because of its reputation and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7691,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[363],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-excellence-award"],"yoast_head":"\n