by Carly Dick
The Paducah Sun
September 22, 2023
Used with permission.
Bennett Wilke is one Paducah Tilghman High School senior who is not afraid to get his hands dirty. He’s this week’s Associated General Contractors of Western Kentucky Technical Center Student of the Week.
Wilke is in his third year in the Auto Maintenance Light Repair program at the Paducah Area Technology Center. He said he’s passionate about automotive technology and has always been interested in repairing machinery. He got an early start thanks to his grandpa.
“I started getting into auto tech when I was just a kid because my grandfather was really heavily into it, and he had some boats and cars and some other stuff that I kind of worked on with him,” Wilke explained. “I was always back there with him. If he was working on something, I was there with him, and it kind of escalated into wanting to do it on my own.”
Wilke was 12 years old when he saved enough money from mowing lawns to buy an old jet ski. He rebuilt the jet ski as one of his first solo projects.
In his sophomore year of high school, Wilke decided to enter the Auto Maintenance pathway at Paducah ATC. The program has helped him grow as a leader and hone his technical skills.
Cory Polsgrove, Wilke’s teacher in auto maintenance, says he’s watched Wilke succeed in class.
“He’s a leader. If we’re doing something, he’s in the middle of it. He doesn’t follow along. He’s going to get in there and figure out what’s going on,” Polsgrove said.
Wilke has a handful of certifications in the Auto Tech field. He’s obtained the Student Automotive Service Excellence certifications for electrical systems, manual drive train and axles, brakes, engine performance, maintenance and light repair, suspension and steering, automobile service technology, engine repair, automatic transmission and transaxle, and heating and air conditioning. He received a Computer-Aided Design Certification from the Certified Solidworks Associate.
Wilke had a summer job at True Green Tech in 2022 and has worked at Coad Toyota as an oil tech since April 2023.
Wilke’s hard work goes beyond technical center classes and his job at Coad Toyota. He’s also a member of Paducah Tilghman’s BETA club, the National Honors Society, and is the Skills USA president.
“He pretty much picks up on everything that we’re doing. Overall, he’s a good student, not only in my class. He’s just an overall excellent student,” Polsgrove said.
After high school, Wilke plans on entering the Automative Technology High-Performance program at the Lincoln College of Technology in Nashville, Tennessee.
Wilke’s passion for automotive technology is evident in his motivation.
“I’d say my biggest motivator is the joy you get from it. When you’re building your own car, and you finally get that thing done, you start it, and it runs, and it’s fast, and it’s powerful, just the joy you get from knowing you did that yourself, and you didn’t buy it that way. I guess that’s kind of what motivates me,” Wilkes said.