Practice what you teach, something Kris Young demonstrates perfectly to his students! Young, the Ford ASSET Instructor at Henry Ford College, recently achieved his 10-Year Senior Master certification.

“I have a constant ‘want’ to hold as many certifications as I can,” said Young. “I believe the training involved in achieving and maintaining those certifications makes me a better instructor.”

In 2000, Young began his journey in the Ford technician program when he was hired at a Lincoln-Mercury-Mazda-Volvo dealership. He began his training shortly after being hired and achieved all of the Ford Service Technician Specialty Training (STST) credentials by mid-2004 after graduating from the Ford ASSET program at Henry Ford College himself! In 2005, he achieved Senior Master Technician status, however, when he left the dealership to teach at Henry Ford College, those years didn’t count until he was the Ford ASSET instructor.

Young credits being an ASSET instructor in helping him get to this milestone.

“I want to be able to give my students the opportunity to achieve every one of the STST certification areas, and I can’t do that without having all of the certifications myself,” he said proudly.

Young has perfected balancing teaching and learning during this time. He has to have all of the certifications himself in order to assign them to students, which motivated him to find time to achieve this.

“I had to find time in the evening, on the weekends, during breaks at the college, and during co-op time,” Young explained. “It is a lot of training, but I always manage to cram it in somewhere.”

When Young finished his training and achieved his 10-Year Senior Master certification, the team at Ford Motor Company created and brought his award to his classroom to celebrate with the students.

“For them to recognize the effort I put in and take the time to bring it [the award] to the college and present it in front of my class, it was awesome,” Young said excitedly.

When asked if he plans on continuing the journey of a Ford technician, it’s a no-brainer.

“If I am blessed to continue teaching the ASSET program for another 10 years, then yes – I plan on achieving 20-Year Senior Masters,” Young said. “The first ten years flew by. The next ten probably will as well.”

For anyone considering joining the Ford and Lincoln technician family, Young would recommend the Ford ASSET program.

“It made me the technician that I am, as well as the instructor that I am. ASSET is the most comprehensive training program that you can go through with certifications, a degree, and a full-time job at the end.” Young said proudly. “It truly sets you up on an awesome career path!”

Learn more about the Henry Ford College ASSET Program here.

Learn more about the Ford ASSET program here.