Pontiac Transportation Museum Opens Doors to OSTC Collision Repair and Auto Tech Students

Automotive Technology and Collision Repair & Refinishing students from Oakland Schools Technical Campus Northeast attended Michigan Auto Heritage Day on Thursday, Oct. 9, at the Pontiac Transportation Museum, located just minutes from campus.

Sponsored by MotorCities National Heritage and hosted at the museum, the event provided students with a unique opportunity to explore the rich automotive history of Pontiac and its significant contributions to the Arsenal of Democracy during World War II.

Students toured the museum’s extensive collection and learned about the city’s role in shaping the U.S. auto industry. Among the highlights was seeing K.I.T.T., the iconic car from the 1980s television series Knight Rider.

Attendees included Paul Galbenski, Oakland Schools K-12 Career Readiness supervisor; Michael Lopez, Automotive Technology instructor; Antonio Acuna, Collision Repair & Refinishing instructor; Cierra Hermosilla, Collision IT; Leah Maurer, student transition coordinator at OSTC-Northeast; and Terry Connolly, Pontiac Transportation Museum board chairman.

“I have been working with Terry and his team for the past several years since the inception of the PTM to connect our students with the automotive world and especially the PTM,” said Galbenski, former Northeast dean and current K-12 career readiness supervisor. “The long-term plan would be to have OSTC-NE students work on these cars, including restoration.”

The visit strengthened the partnership between OSTC-Northeast and the Pontiac Transportation Museum, paving the way for future opportunities for students to contribute their skills to vehicle restoration projects.