SSHS student wins national video contest
SSHS student wins national video contest
JACKSON, Tenn. – Kelly Smythe was around three-years-old when he started holding a flashlight for his dad as he worked on cars. Now, at 17, he says his dad holds the flashlight for him.
The South Side High School junior, who recently transferred from out of the district, gets to practice his passion as part of his school day in Mr. Thomas Berry’s Auto Maintenance class. “You don’t take Mr. Berry’s class for an easy A,” said Smythe. “I could pull a motor out and rebuild it and he challenges me just like he challenges the people who barely know how to change the oil.”
Smythe understands the importance of a technical education in ways few his age does. “If everyone goes to college and wants to work behind a desk then who’s going to fix your car and work on the big rigs that delivery what’s on the shelves at Walmart?” he asked.
That understanding has Smythe in the spotlight as one of 12 winners of a national video contest by Lincoln Tech, a technical college in Nashville. His two-minute video not only has earned him a $1,700 MATCO tool box and tool set, but South Side will receive a MATCO Master Work Station and Tool Storage Unit valued at more than $21,000.
Smythe said Mr. Berry told his class of the optional extra credit opportunity back in November. He was the only student to seize the opportunity. “It wasn’t about the extra credit,” remembered Smythe. “It was a chance to do something for the school.”
About an hour is how long the teen estimates it took him and his friend and videographer Aaron Smith to record the video in south Jackson. Smythe said he wrote a script but accidentally left it behind. So, he was left to ad-lib about how important what he’s learning is to his future. Speaking from the heart turned out to by a winning choice. “When I got the letter it was like, ‘This is crazy!’” Smythe remembered. “I wasn’t expecting it.”
Smythe is enjoying the options he has once he graduates from South Side in 2019. He said he could head to Lincoln Tech on scholarships from his Skills USA wins or enroll in college and pursue a career as a CPA. Either way, Smythe said he will always work on cars. “I will always have grease under my nails,” he stated.
South Side is home to the only Automotive Service Excellence certified, accredited high school program in Tennessee. It’s held the accreditation since 2002 and must reapply every five years. As a certified program, students are able to be hired as paid summer interns and the program receives donated cars from manufacturers and dealerships, allowing students priceless hands-on experience.
To view Smythe’s winning video, https://youtu.be/ReJRnxxUuZM
