April 16, 2012 - UTI-Rancho Cucamonga graduate pursues passion, earns recognition

UTI-Rancho Cucamonga graudate, Dione Pinckert, pictured in front of her employer's signature logo.

Dione Pinckert didn’t set out to be a trailblazer in the automotive field when she took a career aptitude test in high school. But that’s exactly what she has become since graduating from UTI-Rancho Cucamonga.

After the career aptitude test identified “automotive technician” as her future career, which came as no surprise to Pinckert, she enrolled at a community college in Los Angeles to study automotive. But things changed when a friend graduated from UTI-Rancho Cucamonga and spoke highly of the manufacturer-specific programs offered there. After a visit to the campus, she decided UTI was where she needed to be.

Maintaining a 4.0 GPA and a 100 percent attendance record, Pinckert graduated from UTI ready to work, and ready to apply everything she’d learned in the classroom and lab. Two days after graduation, Pinckert was hired by the prestigious Newport Beach, Calif. Mercedes-Benz dealership, Fletcher Jones Motorcars. Mike Swistak, shop foreman for the past 37 years, recalls interviewing Pinckert, saying that she stood out from other candidates and presented herself in professional manner, displaying the eagerness, attitude and enthusiasm that’s required of everyone he hires. He has hired more than 100 UTI graduates since the late 1980s.

“I’ve interviewed a lot of people over the years,” says Swistak. “We’re extremely picky.”

While working as a line technician at Fletcher Jones, Pinckert also worked toward her smog license, ultimately hoping to become a drivability and smog technician. Seeing her dedication and drive, Swistak encouraged Pinckert’s goal and supported her aspiration.

“I told him what I wanted to do, and he said, ‘go for it,’” says Pinckert. “Now I’m a drivability and smog technician, and have been for almost six years.”

Swistak isn’t the only one who recognizes Pinckert’s skills. In 2010, Pinckert attained Fixed First Time status three quarters in a row, making her the only technician ever to do so. That means, for three quarters in a row, not one car that Pinckert serviced came back to the dealership for the same issue again.

As someone who is pursuing her passion, Pinckert’s advice to others doing the same is to not give up when it gets tough.

“Know yourself and your ability,” says Pinckert. “Get out there and try to get some experience.”

Want to learn more about a career as an automotive technician and the manufacturer-specific programs available at UTI? Visit www.uti.edu.