CVTC hosts ‘Finals Fest and Auto Show’ for students, staff at the end of the school year

EAU CLAIRE — From a 2018 GMC Sierra to a 1922 Ford Model-T, a lineup of cars and motorcycles sat outside the Transportation Education Center on Wednesday.

This is our Finals Fest and Auto Show, and this is for CVTC West Campus students,” said Kurtis Burton, student involvement specialist at Chippewa Valley Technical College. “It is a great way to build community and a sense of belonging for the students, but is also a way to connect with faculty and staff at the end of our school year.”

With the event being a yearly opportunity, this is the first year that the technical college has focused on an auto show theme.

Approximately 40 students and staff registered their vehicles for a chance to showcase their car in a number of categories. But as the event is meant to focus on and engage with students, the event on Wednesday was designed so that it is not a traditional competitive car show.

Julie Neuhaus, campus assistant at the Transportation Education Center, said that some participants brought their grandparents’ cars while some brought their every day cars, but each one had a story to tell.

With vehicles on display like a 1978 Oldsmobile and a 1974 Dodge Challenger, Jeff Pettis, an instructor at CVTC, said it is great to see student involvement in this hobby during a time when vintage car collection is seeming to be less and less popular with younger audiences.

“Just getting the youth involved — seeing a lot of youth with classic or seeming to be classic cars — is the best thing that I am seeing,” he said.

But an additional aspect of the event is that the multitude of categories allowed for every student to participate in, even if they did not have a vintage car to showcase.

The 10 categories included typical options like “best vintage” and “best paint,” but also included fun categories like “most likely to get ticketed” and “best rust.” Each car could enter into two categories.

On top of the showcase of vehicles, CVTC also offered food and a mini-golf activity for attendees to enjoy.

Part of the technical colleges’ interest in allowing students and staff to showcase their cars is because of their expressed interest in setting up an event like this, said Burton and Neuhaus.

“It’s two-fold: at the end of the semester, we try to do something that is celebratory for the students, so we kind of tied this event into that. And, the college also likes events that keeps students engaged and on campus, because the more we can keep the students here on campus working together as a cohort, it supports student success,” said Neuhaus.

But as finals week continues for CVTC students, the opportunity to get outside and socialize around cars and motorcycles also gives them a chance to unwind and relax while finishing the school year.

“With finals week and all, I think it is nice to be able to get out and take your mind off of it — enjoy it while you can,” said Tyler Doney, a student at CVTC going through the EMT program.

He continued, and said, “There’s all sorts of different people here: you’ve got the vintage cars, you’ve got tuners, you’ve probably got people with their daily drivers. It’s just all-around fun, and I think it gives people time to connect with other people, take a step back and relax.”