Juneau high school students get hands-on experience with new Diesel 101 class

Ayla Keller and her classmates put on blue coveralls to go to their first class of the day. Then, the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé seniors jacked up a Honda SUV and placed an oil pan on the ground beneath it. 

They are the first students to take Diesel 101, an intro class that lets high school students learn the basics for a trades career. The course is a partnership with the University of Alaska Southeast School of Career Education. That means they get college credits for changing oil. 

In the class, students learn the basics of tool and engine identification, electrical work and heavy-duty diesel mechanics. The district debuted the course as young people are rethinking the value of traditional bachelor’s degrees.

“It’s just a really good intro to diesel because we’re learning the basics that we’ll need in any diesel mechanics field,” Keller said. “It’s just a great starting point for my career.”

Keller has already been accepted into a handful of colleges, but wants a career that’s hands-on – like her dad and grandfather, who are both mechanics. That’s why when she saw the Juneau School District offering the new class, she jumped at the opportunity. 

“By working my butt off, I’ve been able to have good grades in this class and be able to finish a bunch of projects,” she said. 

Alaska struggles to maintain a steady working-age population – there are simply more job openings than available workers. That has a lot to do with outmigration. Corey Ortiz is the Dean of the School of Career Education at UAS. He said the diesel mechanics industry is no exception. 

“There are a lot of very high-wage jobs out there in power tech and diesel,” Ortiz said. “We have a couple of big partners with the mines, and they have a hard time finding people locally to fill their jobs.”

Diesel 101 could open up industry opportunities for Juneau students. Alaska’s mineral mining industry flourished throughout the pandemic and is expected to continue to grow over the next decade. Hecla Greens Creek Mine is Juneau’s most prominent and profitable employer. And, it just got the green light for an expansion that could extend mine operations for up to another 18 years. 

Ortiz said he thinks a big part of the labor shortage in the field is because students might not know there are opportunities out there like this class. That’s why he wanted to collaborate with the high school to offer it. 

“I believe that we need to be exposing students to the technical education,” he said. “In classes as early as we can, and get them into the pathways early and get them really immersed in some direction that will lead them to a meaningful career.”

Parents were concerned that their students would miss out on opportunities when Juneau’s high schools and middle schools consolidated at the start of the school year. But Diesel 101 is a new opportunity – and it has been popular. 

The diesel class has 18 students and a waiting list. It was filled by word of mouth. Trevor Fritz is the instructor and an assistant professor of power technology at UAS. He said offering new and alternative learning opportunities like this one is crucial for high school students. 

That’s especially the case as the cost of a traditional four-year degree keeps rising and young people are looking for another path to a well-paying job. 

“There’s such a great need,” Fritz said. “There’s such a huge need for trades and for skilled professionals in all these fields.”

Carter Harralston is a senior in the class. While holding an oil pan in his hand, he said he isn’t sure what he wants to do after graduating. But he liked the class and said he might look into a job as a mechanic after taking it. 

“I learned a lot of stuff, like oil change for that,” Harralston said, pointing to a vehicle. “To just know where all the parts of an engine are, to look and fix my own engine and basic maintenance stuff that’s good to know.”

The district plans to continue to offer the class in the coming years and expand to offer more. For students like Harralston, classes like these can help them take their first steps into the trades — and the adult world — with a few new skills under their belt.