HOLLAND, Mich. — Students in Careerline Tech Center’s Auto Body program have rebuilt a damaged 2023 Ford Explorer into an Interceptor cruiser for the school’s Public Safety and Security Services program.
It was thanks to a donation from Barber Ford in Holland through the Ford Motor Company and its Automotive Career Exploration program, as well aid from multiple businesses in the area.
Parts manager at Barber Ford, Mike McGee, said the Explorer never reached the dealership lot after being damaged during transport.
“You always hear about the vehicles on carriers hitting the overpasses. That’s what happened to this one,” said McGee. “The roof got peeled off on the way to the dealership.”
Instead of being scrapped for parts, the SUV was sent to CTC, where students replaced and repaired damaged sections, refinished the exterior, and transformed the vehicle into a police-style training unit.
“It gives a great experience to the students, to work on vehicles like they would be working on if they get into the business,” McGee said. "We were able to help them get all the parts that they needed to convert it to that type of Explorer."
CTC Auto Body Program instructor Gary Prins said students devoted hours to the project over the course of last school year.
“They get to work on it an hour or two a day, and some of it’s spent on computers, doing the research and cutting metal and sanding fillers,” Prins said. "Students not only had to know how to do it all, but they had to know how to properly research it and follow all of the guidelines as well."
Local companies contributed equipment and materials.
“The level of collaboration that took place with this project from multiple different companies, from Xtreme Stylin with the graphics, and CJ at Forge Safety with all the equipment,” Prins said.
“Go Rhino and Real Truck, they were able to give us the push bumper, the front partition, the rear partition, which are dividers in the car. Sound Off Signal out of Hudsonville donated the majority of the lights on this, as well as the siren systems. And then Forge Safety donated all of the labor and extra materials to make this build happen,” said CJ Gosko, one of the owners of Forge Safety in Holland.
Prins, McGee and Gosko are all CTC graduates who said workforce shortages make projects like this especially important.
“There’s so many folks that are retiring or getting out of the public safety field at an older age, and there’s not a lot of new people coming in,” Gosko said.
McGee added, “A lot of the long term mechanics are retired, and so we don’t have that pipeline or the long term workers anymore. So, we got to look for a place to get them from.”
CTC student Ryan Dalman said being a part of the Auto Body program has influenced his career choice.
“I am planning on going into the auto body field. I originally wanted to go into auto mechanics, but after being in this program, I can’t see myself doing anything else,” Dalman said. "They're just amazing. They help you out with everything you need to know. And they genuinely care about your future."
Student Chase Smith said the program has taught him skills he can take with him once he graduates.
“Professionalism, being on time, firm handshake, eye contact, just the way you interact with others, and doing stuff even when someone isn’t watching … I can use that in every part of my life, not even with work,” Smith said. "It's really mind blowing that because I decided to do a random class here, I have so many opportunities opened up to me."
Prins said the restored SUV will serve multiple programs.
“The auto tech programs are going to be able to use it for diagnostics and troubleshooting. And all of the things added to it to make it an interceptor type vehicle, that’s for the Public Safety Program. And students are going to be able to hop in this thing and see what it feels like to sit in the driver’s seat of a police vehicle,” he said.
Careerline Tech Center, operated by Ottawa Area ISD, offers career and technical education across 30 fields to high school students from 11 local public school districts, as well as private and homeschooled students.
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