With nearly 50 years in the industry, 10 years of teaching at BCCTC and close to 40 years working for a Chevrolet dealership, Mr. Alan Valasek, Automotive Technology instructor, will not be returning next year as he is retiring his automotive work wrench.
“Probably my favorite project we worked on in here would be the ’67 Camaro due to the amount of time and student involvement on that car. But projects aside, I am definitely going to miss the students, however I am looking forward to relaxing and not having to worry about daily work pressures,” Mr. Valasek said. He continues, “Of course, I will miss the staff too. They are extremely friendly and I like how they all pull together to help each other out.”
When asked if he had any advice for a new teacher, he said, “Take things as they come and realize that the students in this program are not professionals yet. It’s important to be patient and it’s equally important to award bonus points for the Chevy drivers!”
Dylan Lewis, Automotive Technology student from South Side who will be returning to the program next year said, “Mr. V taught me a lot, especially with electrical and engine work. He’s really cool. I’ll miss him.”
Mr. Jason Davis, Automotive’s Instructional Assistant added, “Working with Alan these past years, has been a real pleasure. He always treated me as an equal and was open to any suggestions I had for the class. His friendly nature and vast automotive knowledge will be a loss to the school and future students. I would like to wish him the best in his new chapter of life in retirement!”
And finally, our Assistant Administrative Director, Ms. Laura DelVecchio, had the following to say. “Mr. Valasek has been an asset to the career center in so many ways and will be missed terribly. His willingness to go above and beyond for his students and think outside of the box during the pandemic to ensure that his students had opportunities that enabled them to get the hands on experience needed through utilizing our business partners, his willingness to bring in new equipment to the program to ensure his students were learning on the latest and greatest in the industry, and his undying support to help his colleagues and members of our partner districts with issues they encountered with their vehicles with his “Can Do” attitude, will be missed. Mr. Valasek , aka V, is a class act and his handprint will remain on the hearts of his students for years to come. Thank you so much for your service and for all that you have done to make a difference in the program and more importantly for the students enrolled in the Automotive Technology program.”
Apart from emphasizing how much he will miss the students and staff, Mr. Valasek ended his interview by stating, “I would like to wish everyone the best in what life has to offer.”
Mr. Valasek, we would like to wish you the same. Happy Retirement and THANK YOU!
This made me wanna cry. I can’t explain what an amazing person and teacher he was. I hope to see him one day soon so I can tell him all that his teachings have done for me!
Happy retirement. I’ll never forget how great it was to be in your class