James Tripp Pockevicius is a graduate of the class of 2005 at Worcester Vocational and is the acting department head of the Worcester Tech Automotive Technology shop for the 2019-2020 school year.
The Auto Tech shop has mainly been run by Mr. Cliff Worthley for the past nine years, but he has since decided to retire from his job. The shop was always organized and was kept clean while he was in charge. Mr. Worthley helped everyone out in the shop and kept everyone busy.
Mr. Tripp was a student at the old Worcester Vocational for his high school years and has had a great experience. “It was definitely different,” he said about high school, as he experienced what he describes as “long distance walks to get to classes” and having to walk outside in bad weather, often crossing a busy street just to get to automotive shop or related theory.
Mr. Tripp said, “College was a good experience with having to learn about responsibility and time management.” From his time as an Auto Technician, he has worked on everything from a simple oil change to building engines. Mr. Tripp is also an ASE Master Certified mechanic, rated technician for domestic and foreign automobiles, CVTE certified instructor, class adviser, AV/Site Administrator, and is now managing a busy state-of-the-art shop.
Mr. Tripp decided to take on the role as a temporary shop head for Auto Tech, and with that, he gained a lot more work. He said, “Any one of the shop teachers here are very capable of becoming the shop head,” but that he wanted to “learn more about how the shop works from the office side and make a greater impact on the students and community.” Having already taught as a teacher for eight years, he felt that it was a good next step for him. Mr. Tripp said one of his goals for his shop students this year is to give them more educational experiences through field trips and outside experiences through increased internships and cooperative employment jobs.