Women on Wheels: Lori Johnson / Ladies Start Your Engine
True Story: An old friend of my mother’s once had a choice between buying her son, who had a scholarship to a toney music school, his very own harp or paying a mechanic to rebuild the engine in her car so that she could drive it. She was an amazing mother, and opted to buy the harp, then spent several weeks taking the bus to and from work while she also attended an automotive class at the local community college and learned how to rebuild the engine herself. She had to endure a lot of teasing from the mostly male students in the class.
She died of Ovarian cancer several years ago, but I always think of her around this time of year, and so, in her honor, for this week’s Women on Wheels, we’re spotlighting Lori Johnson, whom we learned about from our friends at AskPatty.
Lori runs “Ladies, Start Your Engines,” a hands-on automotive repair class just for women, which not only teaches women how to do basic auto work, but also gives them a sense of empowerment and confidence. I think this is really cool, because all drivers, male and female, should be able to do basic repairs.
According to the website for Ms. Johnson’s class, it was originally a co-ed class, but it became women-only when she noticed that women were reluctant to ask questions. She changed the tenor of the class, and with the basic repair, also taught her students how to feel more confident when talking to mechanics about their cars.
Ms. Johnson has over twenty years of automotive experience, and we think she sets an example for every woman (and man) on wheels. I think my mother’s friend would have liked her.
November 30th, 2007 at 3:44 am
[...] **There is an automotive class just for women who are eager to learn how to do every type of car mai… [...]