More Than Turning Wrenches:
Automotive Careers at Worlds of Work 2026
October 2nd, 2026 | Middletown, Virginia: A quick lesson on checking engine oil soon turned into students doing it themselves. Before long, some were even showing their classmates what they had just learned. That hands-on learning was at the heart of Marlow Auto Group’s automotive careers at Worlds of Work 2026 at Laurel Ridge Community College’s Middletown Campus.
The career exploration event brought together nearly 3,000 eighth-grade students and more than 70 local businesses. Students rotated through different industries, meeting local professionals and getting an up-close look at possible careers. For the Marlow team, the goal was simple: give students a chance to get their hands on a vehicle and discover how much goes into working in today’s automotive industry
Automotive Careers at Worlds of Work 2026
Tri-State Nissan Service Technicians Logan Brown and Allen Dike worked directly with students throughout the day. They started with the basics, showing students how to check engine oil and tire pressure. Then they handed the experience over to the students. Many stepped forward to perform the checks themselves. Some became comfortable enough that they began helping their classmates. The demonstrations then moved from basic maintenance to the technology technicians use every day. Students saw professional diagnostic equipment used to identify vehicle problems, including issues that can cause a check-engine light. It was an opportunity to see that being a modern automotive technician involves much more than turning wrenches. Today’s technicians work with computers, diagnostic equipment, specialized tools, and increasingly advanced vehicle technology.
Students also explored a Nissan Frontier used by Marlow’s Mobile Service team. The truck gave them a look at the tools technicians take on the road when performing service away from the dealership. A Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe was also on display. The plug-in hybrid generated additional questions about hybrid technology and how vehicles continue to change.
More Than One Road to an Automotive Career
One question came up repeatedly throughout the day: How do I get started? The Marlow team explained that becoming an automotive technician doesn’t require someone to begin as an expert. An apprenticeship can provide a starting point. New technicians can work alongside experienced professionals, continue their training, build their skills, and advance into more specialized positions. Students also learned that technicians represent only one part of a dealership.
Marlow team members Ed Sullivan, Emily Marlow Beck, Brian Nieves, Greg Strosnider, Deidre Williams, Michael Neumann, and Robyn Clark joined Logan and Allen at the event. Together, the group represented careers across fixed operations, service, customer service, human resources, marketing, used vehicles, management, and dealership ownership. That variety helped students see just how many different career paths exist within the automotive business.
“It was great seeing how interested the students were. We’d show them how to check something, and then they wanted to try it themselves. A few even started showing their friends what they had just learned. If a student walks away thinking, ‘I could do this for a career,’ then I think we did something worthwhile.” — Logan Brown, Service Technician, Tri-State Nissan
Students left with pens, keychains, ice scrapers, and tire pressure gauges that tied directly into one of the skills they had practiced. By the end of the day, students had done more than hear about automotive careers. They had checked oil, measured tire pressure, explored professional tools, asked technicians questions, and learned how an apprenticeship could become the first step toward a career. For some students, a future in the automotive industry may have started with something as simple as opening a hood and trying it for themselves.
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