The Auto Tech Club, with advisers Mike Brandt and Phil Green, does much more than uphold the status quo. Walking into the E-1 building for the first time, one instantly feels a sense of pride and teamwork.

It’s not easy getting into the Auto Tech Club. The club’s aura sustains an intensity that closely resembles that of other prestigious organizations such as the Marine Corps.

They expect each member to develop to his or her full potential. “You go, we go,” is one of the club’s mottos, according to President Carl Canning. The club’s members take this to mean that their group is only as strong as its weakest link.

To gain admittance to the club, students must either complete a series of prerequisite courses or test high enough to earn an exemption. Once the first step is out of the way, prospects fill out an application for admittance, which is based on a point system.

Factors such as previous courses, work experience and knowledge of the field are considered. From there, classes are formed for successful applicants, ranging from 21 – 24 students.

Canning describes the Auto Tech Club as being, “… very close knit, like a family … the instructors have such passion, and [they] hold students to fulfill their maximum potential.”

If you ask any of the club members, they’ll tell you the juice is well worth the squeeze, especially if you have a passion for cars and mastering their inner workings.

Despite demanding discipline, commitment and hard work, the Auto Tech Club still knows how to have a good time. Each club year starts with the BBQ Kickoff, the first of many food-oriented celebrations the club stages.

Spending so much time with one another results in an environment where, “everybody knows each other’s name,” says adviser Mike Brandt, and he describes the overall atmosphere as, “a neat sense of being.”

Perhaps the single event that generates the most buzz for the Auto Tech Club is the “Duel at De Anza Autocross,” an annual extravaganza that transforms the campus parking lot into a race track. Anybody who is willing to put their car on the line is eligible, as long the vehicle qualifies to meet the standards within one of the various classes.

Besides partying, having fun and racing cars, the club contributes immensely toward supporting the less fortunate. They donated over 8,000 cans in the most recent De Anza Annual Canned Food Drive, dwarfing the next highest figure set by any other club, which was about 1,000.

Each member displays the same great sense of pride to be a part of the program, starting with President Carl Canning, trickling down through the club officers: Jeff Carlsbad (Vice President), Skyler Schults (Treasurer), Nick Clay (Secretary), Tad Koch (ICC Representative) and the students working under the car hoods in the garage.

Daytime classes meet Monday – Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and the program offers certification or an A.S. degree in three different specialized fields relating to Auto Tech: engine/machining, chassis and engine performance/tuning.

This well-funded program offers superior job placement assistance compared to most clubs. “I usually have more job offers than students to fill them,” says Green.

Green attributes the surplus of opportunity to the networking that is established within the club.

De Anza Auto Tech carries a prestigious reputation. Most car dealers and independent garages are eager to hire graduates, which results in the high standards that each student is expected to uphold. Each of these contributing factors goes into creating a cycle, which assembles what some might call a magnificent example of a well-oiled machine.