Ms. Williams and Mike Rowe at 2013 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Kansas City, MO
Hello there,
I'm Melissa Williams. I grew up in Waynesboro, PA and joined the Army right after high school. I loved the Army and it provided me with a lot of opportunities. Five days after my 7+ year enlistment ended in Southern Georgia and I started my 2 year journey of technical training at Altamaha Technical College to receive my Certificate in Automotive Technology. My first place of employment was as a general line technician at a General Motors dealership. I learned about dealership protocols and procedures and developed a "Fix it Right the First Time" attitude! Wanting to learn about more vehicles and different makes and models I went to work at an independent shop that sold, serviced, and rented vehicles. I worked on just about everything at that shop and learned as much as I could. At that point, with 2 years of schooling and 4 years of butt-busting work I was ready to try something new! My good friend Frank and I decided to open a shop of our own and in 2009 Frank's Auto Service was born! Ok, so it wasn't that glorious in the beginning, but within the first year we went from a 30 X 40 2 bay steel building for a shop to a 7-bay facility smack dab in the middle of town and we were busy! Our honest approach to our customers allowed us the opportunity to grow and become a great business with a great customer base. In the summer of 2012, as much as I loved the business and the people associated with it, my time in Georgia had to end. For family reasons I decided to relocate as close to my hometown and family as I could get. So, I hopped online and the first ad that came up was a teaching position in Martinsburg, WV. I used the internet to find out where in the heck Martinsburg, WV was, and I knew I found my calling! Only a few miles from where I wanted to be, almost weird how it happened. By this point I had earned my Master ASE Certification and I have always wanted to teach. I want to show students the right way to fix something and the right way to treat customers. The automotive industry is lacking in some of these principles, and I know that I can help change things and bring new respect back to the industry, even if that may only be in this small area, I'm okay with that. At least I know that the students I send out into the local shops and garages will have at least been taught how to respect someone's vehicle and treat it like it was their own, or their mama's, or their brother's or sister's car. So here I am heading into my eleventh year of teaching and excited for a new year!!! I finally earned my Regents Bachelors or Arts degree in 2018! Planning on working on my Masters in Education Leadership in the next few years!!!
I'm Melissa Williams. I grew up in Waynesboro, PA and joined the Army right after high school. I loved the Army and it provided me with a lot of opportunities. Five days after my 7+ year enlistment ended in Southern Georgia and I started my 2 year journey of technical training at Altamaha Technical College to receive my Certificate in Automotive Technology. My first place of employment was as a general line technician at a General Motors dealership. I learned about dealership protocols and procedures and developed a "Fix it Right the First Time" attitude! Wanting to learn about more vehicles and different makes and models I went to work at an independent shop that sold, serviced, and rented vehicles. I worked on just about everything at that shop and learned as much as I could. At that point, with 2 years of schooling and 4 years of butt-busting work I was ready to try something new! My good friend Frank and I decided to open a shop of our own and in 2009 Frank's Auto Service was born! Ok, so it wasn't that glorious in the beginning, but within the first year we went from a 30 X 40 2 bay steel building for a shop to a 7-bay facility smack dab in the middle of town and we were busy! Our honest approach to our customers allowed us the opportunity to grow and become a great business with a great customer base. In the summer of 2012, as much as I loved the business and the people associated with it, my time in Georgia had to end. For family reasons I decided to relocate as close to my hometown and family as I could get. So, I hopped online and the first ad that came up was a teaching position in Martinsburg, WV. I used the internet to find out where in the heck Martinsburg, WV was, and I knew I found my calling! Only a few miles from where I wanted to be, almost weird how it happened. By this point I had earned my Master ASE Certification and I have always wanted to teach. I want to show students the right way to fix something and the right way to treat customers. The automotive industry is lacking in some of these principles, and I know that I can help change things and bring new respect back to the industry, even if that may only be in this small area, I'm okay with that. At least I know that the students I send out into the local shops and garages will have at least been taught how to respect someone's vehicle and treat it like it was their own, or their mama's, or their brother's or sister's car. So here I am heading into my eleventh year of teaching and excited for a new year!!! I finally earned my Regents Bachelors or Arts degree in 2018! Planning on working on my Masters in Education Leadership in the next few years!!!
