Nobody is going to throw a monkey wrench in Jacob McEwen’s future plans. Since Jacob was a young boy he has always had a passion for fixing things. His keen sense of determination and interest in how things work has led him down the path towards becoming a heavy duty mechanic.

Like many young boys, Jacob was always intrigued by cars and heavy duty machinery and wondered how exactly the pistons connect to make the engines run – how could machines be used to lift such huge objects with the small movement of a valve or lever? As an apprentice heavy duty mechanic, Jacob has finally started to unravel some of these mysteries.

Jacob is a Grade 12 student currently attending Revelstoke Secondary school. He started his Secondary School Apprenticeship (SSA) for Heavy Duty Mechanics in Grade 10 at just 15 years old. By the time Jacob was halfway through Grade 11 he had already completed 1000 apprenticeship hours! Jacob knows the definition of hard work as he has spent his past two summers collecting apprenticeship hours at a local mechanic shop in Revelstoke and completing his level 1 technical training.

Jacob worked extremely hard to gain his level one apprenticeship at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops – where he was by the far the youngest person in the program.

Jacob is currently is waitlisted for his level two apprenticeship. If accepted, Jacob’s teachers will work together with him to get ahead on his other school studies, so he can take a 8-week leave of absence from school, so he can complete his second of four training levels.

After Jacob graduates, he plans to finish his 3rd and 4th year apprenticeships and complete his red seal certificate.

In Jacob’s spare time he enjoys working on his car or his family members’ vehicles. He loves to learn and always takes every last opportunity to build his knowledge so he can be even better at his trade. When Jacob isn’t fixing engines he can be found cruising around town on his skateboard or snowboarding down the steep slopes at Revelstoke Mountain Resort.

In the future, Jacob would like to do some travelling then settle down and take over his grandparents logging truck business - or open his own mechanic shop to service vehicles. He would also like to have a service truck so he can go out into the woods and repair heavy-duty trucks and machines.

Jacob is destined for success and there is no doubt that he will receive his Red Seal Certificate in no time and continue to achieve amazing things.

Read more B.C. student success stories.