All students have their “thing.” Sports, AP classes, language, volunteering… you could walk up to any student at FHC and he or she would be able to tell you about their “thing” they love to do.

Junior Jared Chamberlain has taken his “thing” to the next level. Through Kent Career Technical Center, he is able to integrate his love of cars into his everyday life beyond the average “I get to drive my car to school” teenager state-of-mind.

Jared participates in the auto-tech program at KCTC. There are four different semester-long classes and Jared is currently in the brakes class, where he gets a hand on experience. In his class, Jared is able to learn things like working on cars, learning about the different styles of brakes, how the brakes work, and how to fix them.

“I began to really really enjoy messing around with cars and working with cars,” Jared said. “And when I found out they had an auto-tech program, then that just kind of seemed like the place for me.”

Jared’s classroom isn’t your standard classroom. When he drives to KCTC half way through the day, Jared walks into a large school with hundreds of kids learning about the things they love through classes such as cooking, law enforcement, aerospace, science, and auto.

Jared’s home is in D-Wing, where the classroom and the shop are connected. In the shop, he gets to separate into small groups of kids from all different districts across the area. He gets to work hands on with cars, taking brakes apart and putting them back together, and learning how they work in the process.

Jared is not all cars all the time. The other half of his day is spent at FHC, and even though he is not here all day, he still manages to spread his light and make an impact on his peers.

Junior Ellie Matelic can easily remember times where Jared has made her laugh.

“One time, Jared found a baby raccoon on the side of the road and took it in as his pet,” Ellie said.

Ellie also recalls times she has seen him walking around the halls.

“I’ve also seen him wearing a sleeping bag with arm holes and leg holes at school,” Ellie said.

Jared is able to manage his time well. Between three regular core classes at FHC and an afternoon spent at KCTC, he will graduate with an array of credits that are more geared toward what he actually cares about, compared to gym, health, four years of math, four years of English, etc.

“[KCTC] seemed like a cool experience to go there and get to work on things that I actually like and what to do when I’m older, rather than physics, which I don’t have any care for,” Jared said.