Gary Weese was an automotive technology instructor at Caddo Career & Technology Center in Shreveport, Louisiana for 22 years.

After a long career in automotive repair, Weese toured his local Career Center and discovered that the program was not aligned with current automotive standards, and was missing an instructor. Drawing on his years of experience in the automotive industry and training in the United States Air Force, he made the jump to teaching.

A year after its launch, Weese’s program was certified by the Automotive Service Education Foundation (formerly known as NATEF), and was the first automotive program to achieve a perfect score in the certification process. Many of Weese’s students participated in the Automotive Youth Education System (AYES) internship program, where they trained to become technicians in automotive dealerships across the country.

“A key point about hiring our students is that they have been taught the soft skills and work ethics which are a part of everyday class operation, and something the instructors believe that is led by example,” Weese said. The program was recognized as one of the top five schools in the nation in the implementation of the AYES model.

Weese’s students participated in SkillsUSA, the national career and technical education student organization, and some were selected as members of the National Technical Honor Society. Weese’s students won first place in Louisiana SkillsUSA automotive competitions in eight of the 10 years from 2012 to 2021. One of his students was the first female winner of a SkillsUSA automotive competition in the state.

Weese was an ASE Certified Master Automotive Technician for 45 years. He was awarded a masters degree in Educational Leadership, as well as Marketing and Finance degrees. Weese, who served in the United States Air Force, won several awards including National Teacher of the Year from the Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE).

“With an average of four to five speakers a year, several field trips a year, a multitude of job shadowing experiences, and a number of competitions, our students experienced a tremendous amount of guidance, training, and evaluation.”