Ryan Arnold: ‘I want to be that bridge’ between the classroom and the shop

Ryan Arnold has spent more than 15 years in the classroom and over two decades in automotive, and it shows. He’s taught at both the community college and high school levels, often through dual credit programs, and adds a plethora of real-world auto shop experience to every lesson.

Before teaching, Arnold worked just about every kind of job you can think of—fixing equipment on his family’s farm, wrenching in independent shops and big-name dealerships, even installing stereos at a Circuit City-style shop while going to school. He’s also a military vet and still stays active in the racing scene.

All said and done, Arnold just wants to give his students the tools and confidence to build real automotive careers they take pride in. Whether they’re picking up a wrench for the first time or diving into diagnostics, he’s right there with them—teaching, encouraging, and making sure they’re ready for whatever’s next—including the latest automotive technologies.

Q. What are some of the technological changes that you’ve seen as an instructor, even over the last five to 10 years? 

Ryan Arnold: I mean, I’m trying to think of something that recently, but there’s been just a huge shift away from automotive as a place to put kids who don’t do well in school. Realistically, automotive probably needs to be moved out of the transportation, distribution, and logistics section into more of a STEM-type program. That’s what I see, especially with all of the autonomous driving, that it’s now almost an engineering-level job versus a wrench-turning job.

Q. Are students entering the program more excited about working on cars that are more technologically advanced than those that are not?

Arnold: I want to say that the students you would have that are excited are probably on the same level. I would imagine that there are slightly different versions of it. But when you do get their excitement, you build off it.

Q. Are many of them intrigued by the emerging tech side of it—ADAS and EVs?

Arnold: Because I do still do some stuff with the college, at the college level, they are. They’re involved on their personal device and not really paying that much attention when in their parents’ vehicle and stuff. But at the college level, absolutely.

Q. How do you build the curriculum to help them understand and adapt to changing technology?

Arnold: So, it’s a constantly changing thing, and what’s so great about the new AI coming out is that you can almost custom-tailor a curriculum to benefit each kid individually. We’ve actually switched our textbook platform to a system that is almost like an interactive game, and some kids take right to it. You go through and play and figure this stuff out, and that has been a great benefit for us in many different aspects.

Q. You talk about gamifying and new technology. Are there other simulators, like smart glasses?

Arnold: We haven’t yet dipped our toes into those waters due to the cost. School districts are struggling with money right now, and while the automotive program is amazingly expensive, they do a lot of stuff for us, like (providing) the online platform Electude.

And then replacing all the equipment in the shop. It’s half a million dollars’ worth of lifts and all this equipment and books and stuff like that. The kids all have Chromebooks now anyway, but getting tablets or proof cases they can use in the shop so they can actually work on electronic invoices and things like that is a small step forward, but we have yet to go all the way to the glasses or anything else at this point.

Q. Does the possibility exist for aftermarket partners to invest?

Arnold: Oh, absolutely, and there are a lot of people who would like to, but there are so many hurdles when it comes to dealing with school districts, and then when you receive federal funding, is it going to everybody? There are just all these laws and hurdles that have been put in the way. I know groups like Penske Automotive; they pay a large chunk for each kid to attend UTI and then come to work for them. So, groups like that would love to partner with high schools because they get (students) while they’re young and impressionable.

Q. What have you found is the best way to train your students in automotive technology?

Arnold: You’ve got to be real with them, and you’ve got to connect with them in some way. You’ve got to joke around. They’ve got to have a good time. They’ve got to know you’re serious, and then they’ve got to see the value in what they’re learning.

Q. Looking five or ten years down the road, what do you think your teaching career will look like?

Arnold: I see myself moving out of the classroom to where I’m going to be like a “train the trainer.” I’m going to help new technicians (or old technicians) become the new teachers and help them find their way to be successful and trained.

Q. Do you see any involvement from local shop owners in your classroom? 

Arnold: I have a lot of people who want to be. As a matter of fact, I’m actually helping present next week in my district about this. Everybody really sees that we need new blood here. But everybody just is so busy. They say, “I definitely want to be a part of this, but I don’t want to waste my time” or “I don’t want to come to your school and then you give me a kid who can’t write his name.” Some do see the importance, but there needs to be more invested. I want to be that bridge that helps everybody figure this out.