Published 05/19/2026
Exposing Students to Current Tech and Experts From the Industry
Bringing experts from the automotive repair industry into the classroom has been a focus for instructors in the Automotive Repair program at BRCC. “We are grateful to have people in the community come in and talk with students so that they are prepared when they enter the work force,” Jeff Wiseman, Automotive Analysis & Repair Department Chair, explained. “Mike and I are doing our best to make sure the students who leave our program are prepared for the ‘real world’ so they have a better chance at success.”
Local shop foreman, Marcus Yeago, recently visited to demonstrate how to isolate the hybrid system from a 2024 Toyota Sienna hybrid van. Yeago works for McDonough Toyota in Staunton. Starting with an emphasis on safety, he brought common safety tools and equipment used to service hybrid and electric vehicles (EV). Marcus discussed common problems he has personally seen in the automotive industry and how important it is to be a professional in this field.
“I learned a lot about how to safely disable the high-voltage system on a hybrid vehicle. Having Marcus come in with a newer Toyota hybrid was very helpful in my understanding of how a hybrid works and how to stay safe while working on them,” said student Noah Mumbert.
Another guest lecturer this spring was Matt Donato from Standard Motor Products. Matt is an automotive educator who travels the country training professional automotive technicians and automotive instructors. Matt specifically wanted to demonstrate to BRCC students an in-depth look into how to use a Pico oscilloscope. This highly-advanced tool is used to create real time graphs of electrical signals to help automotive technicians diagnosis todays’ complex electrical systems.
For auto student Liam Chester, Matt’s lecture was a hit! “This was probably one of my favorite class periods for the semester. We had used the scopes a lot up to this point, but it was really neat to see someone who is super fluent in the way they operate,” he said. “You could tell throughout the presentation that he not only knew what he was talking about, but was very passionate about teaching the information.”
Classmate Edward Kirby agreed and added, “The demonstrations added a depth of knowledge and value to the class. Many things get lost in translation or become boring when reading but actually seeing it being done makes it much more interesting.”