(WACO) – Jake Sehon knew he needed to work more with his hands when he was a student at Robinson High School.
“I wanted to do something other than go to seven classes a day at Robinson,” said Sehon, 27, of Robinson. “I wanted to get a jump on a career and didn’t want to wait too late after high school.”
So, he looked toward something he enjoyed: cars.
Sehon, 27, took dual credit classes in automotive technology in the Midway Independent School District through Texas State Technical College and graduated from Robinson High School in 2008.
“It’s a good thing to invest in,” he said about taking dual credit classes. “It’s a chance to do something different.”
Some of his favorite work in his classes involved disassembling a junk car and learning about electrical systems. He said he enjoyed taking the automotive classes with other students from Crawford, Lorena, Midway and Robinson high schools that were taught by Rudy Cervantez, statewide chair of TSTC Auto Repair.
“Jake is more of a performance guy,” Cervantez said. “He was a good student.”
Sehon received a certificate in Machining at TSTC in 2009.
Today, Sehon assembles wiring harnesses and nitrous kits at Nitrous Outlet on South 28th Street in Waco. The business specializes in building nitrous systems for automobiles, boats, lawn mowers and other engine-powered machinery.
And, he gets to see a familiar face who works in fabrication and machining daily at the business: his brother Colt, 24, a 2011 graduate of Robinson High School and 2012 graduate of TSTC with a certificate in Machining.
“Our dad and uncle work with machines, and we figured the field would be good to go into,” said Colt Sehon, a Waco resident.
The Sehons became familiar with cars growing up as their relatives worked with dragsters.
“I like the adrenaline rush,” Jake Sehon said. “It’s a quarter-mile of fun. A lot of times the faster you go, the more money it costs.”
The brothers both played baseball and football in high school, with Colt Sehon also being a member of the powerlifting team. The brothers said they knew early on they would be better off attending a two-year institution.
“There’s no way we could get enough loans to go to a four-year college,” Colt Sehon said.
The brothers are still plotting their career paths. Jake Sehon said he wants to work his way up the pay scale, while his brother said he wants to grow his skills and professional responsibilities.
For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.
