While most find themselves in the automotive industry because of passion, Albert Zoll found himself not just becoming a technician, but also a teacher because of his dedication to learning and improving.

Now an instructor of automotive service technology at Moore Norman Technology Center in Norman, Oklahoma, Zoll shares why he made the choice to transition from tech to teacher, and how the ASE Education Foundation has helped him train his students.

The Student Who Never Gives Up

As a child, Zoll was heavily influenced by rally racing and Formula One. Growing up outside the U.S., he was mainly interested in European motorsports, and became familiar with NASCAR and drag racing after moving to the U.S. around 10 years old.

"I had posters on the walls of big, famous drivers. Michael Schumacher was somebody who I wanted to be like growing up," recalls Zoll.

After moving to the U.S., his passion only grew. Finding more opportunities to be around cars and learn about them, he realized that this was something he could pursue outside of just high-paced, intense racing environments.

"It sounds kind of cheesy, but The Fast and the Furious made me realize that I didn't have to be a professional driver or some high-level engineer to be able to work on cars and modify my car," Zoll adds.

Throughout high school, Zoll excelled in math and considered going into engineering or architecture. However, it would be a scholarship from General Motors that brought Zoll to study automotive. Initially enrolling in General Motors' program at the local junior college, Zoll had planned to transfer and go into engineering, but his dedication prompted GM to pay for another year of training, and Zoll would go on to complete the automotive track he was on entirely in 2007.

"At that point, I felt like I was doing really good in the shop," says Zoll. "I was very confident. Things just made sense to me—the way vehicles work, the technology—everything just clicked in my head. And I'm guessing that's probably where a lot of my engineering abilities come from. So I stuck with it."

Throughout it all, Zoll didn't realize in the moment just how much work he was accomplishing. It's only now, looking back, that he realizes how impactful everything he learned was for him to be where he is now.

"My high school teachers were actually really vested in me. They were really trying to teach us everything that they knew at a high level, without us really knowing about it," says Zoll. "So I valued it a lot, and that played a huge role when I came back as a teacher in college."

A New Path to Follow

Eventually, Zoll worked his way up within the dealership space and, before long, was longing for something different in his career. He felt he had mastered so many parts of being a technician, but had been avoiding other areas that he felt he had potential to strengthen as well.

While Zoll excelled in math, he always avoided public speaking, being the last student wanting to present in front of a crowd. It seemed like becoming a teacher was the last thing he would want to do—however, for Zoll, it was just another area of growth he hadn't tapped into yet.

"So when I told people that I was applying for my position—that I was taking a teaching job—they looked at me like I was nuts. Like, 'I know you, you're not that kind of person,'" Zoll tells. "But I felt like I needed to go out of my comfort zone. I had been in the back of the shop for way too long. Avoiding customers, avoiding phone calls. I needed to grow."

After making the decision, Zoll would have to return to school and obtain a bachelor's degree. It was a big change, returning to a university setting in 2021 for the first time since 2007, and a strain on Zoll. He struggled at first, but did what he had to stay on track, allowed himself to make mistakes, and didn't lose sight of his goal.

"I got the hang of college again. I worked really hard. I lost a lot of sleep, but I was able to maintain my family time, give my students the time they deserved, do my work right, and then do my college right," says Zoll.

Having a Community That Cares

Upon becoming an automotive instructor, Zoll would realize just how impactful ASE is. He benefited tremendously from gaining ASE certifications as a student, but he would gain a sense of how ASE helps not just students, but also those training technicians as well. After taking his first teaching role, he was encouraged to learn what all ASE had done to help develop the school's automotive curriculum—which he would now be working with.

As the ASE Education Foundation's capabilities have grown, Zoll has seen an outpouring of support from his local representative, enabling him to continue on a path of sustained learning.

"I can go to her with any question, and she'll answer it for me," says Zoll. "If she doesn't know, she'll find somebody that can help me at the ASE conferences. She's introduced me to people from all over."