November 17, 2014 - Rolling up her sleeves: Motorcycle technician training helps graduate turn raw talent into marketable skills
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Emma Bennett on her graduation day from MMI-Phoenix |
Emma Bennett was working in a factory, like most recent high school graduates from her small town in Illinois, when she took her interest in engines to the next level. She was different from the rest of the employees because of her fascination in the complicated machines that ran the factory ‒ machines she would learn how to fix when they broke down as one of the few employees who could figure out the repairs.
Bennett can’t remember a time when she wasn’t interested in how things ran and feels like mechanical knowledge and being able to fix machines is an innate skill that she has.
“I remember being really little and wondering why the lawn mower worked when you pulled the string, and trying to figure it out. I’ve just always wanted to know why things run and how to fix them,” Bennett says “It’s really an awesome feeling to know when you fix something and it runs that you did that, you made it work.”
Bennett wanted to learn how to fix cars after high school and her experience in the bottle factory only solidified Bennett’s love of engines and machinery. It also reinforced the natural talent that she had for mechanical equipment.
Narrowing her interest down to motorcycles grew out of the love of Harleys that she was introduced to by her stepmother and her extended family. They loved to ride and Emma soon caught the bug.
After seeing a commercial for Motorcycle Mechanics Institute (MMI), she knew her next step in learning more about repairing engines would combine well with her newfound love of motorcycles, and she began to save her factory earnings to pay for her further education.
She soon traveled from her small Midwestern town of 18,000 to Phoenix, Ariz., to learn how to fix Harley-Davidsons and was surprised to learn that “all brands are cool in their own way.” She graduated in September with not only a certificate in Late Model Harley-Davidsons, but also certificates for Honda and BMW.
MMI was an eye-opening experience for Bennett, teaching her not only to enjoy all brands, but learning multiple ways to repair the same parts of a motorcycle.
“Every instructor has different experiences and ways of doing things, so you have the benefit of gaining something different from each of them,” says Bennett.
“My advice to people coming to MMI,” she continues, “is to come with an open mind and be ready to learn. I feel like I did so well because I didn’t come with preconceived ideas about knowing much about fixing motorcycles, the students who really struggled were the ones that thought they already knew what they were doing. I was scared because I didn’t know if I could do it. I was terrified that I’d fail and not understand anything. But the instructors were fantastic at alleviating my fears and helped me be very confident in what I know and can accomplish.”
Bennett’s future goals include working for a dealer in Texas, learning how to be a better rider and saving up for a BMW-CL so she can travel around the country on longer rides with her family.
