Ever since I was a kid, I considered myself as having a mechanical intellect. As a toddler, I used to flip bikes upside down, spin the pedal sprocket, and watch how the chain mechanism worked.

As I grew older, I was curious about how different things worked – steam locomotives, the electric motors on our fan, and the old alarm clock on my nightstand. Though curious, I realized I was never really motivated to dive in to learn or understand how they functioned or operated.

Until I found Bendix Academy.

I was 11 then and began to learn about different fasteners, metal works, sandblasting, riveting, and lots more. It was there that something sparked in me I had never felt before: ambition.

Three years into lessons, I stopped by an estate sale and bought a vintage GE fan for $5.

Back home, I took it apart, cleaned the copper coils, changed out the wiring, and cleaned rust off with a wire brush. I turned around and sold it for $35! That was the start of my journey. Today I fix up old engines, outboards motors, and chainsaws and sell them. I’m also branching out into working on cars and trucks.

If it weren’t for Bendix, I would not be who I am today. We need more youth like me find the shovel of ambition to explore and dig deep into their passions for toolmanship and mechanics.

– Grey, former Bendix Student 

Being a Bendix mentor is an excellent way for people like me – retired engineers, pilots, DIY enthusiasts – to pass on lifetimes of experience and time-honored skills to younger generations.

Bendix’s toolmanship program is a valuable asset, providing kids with important tool and equipment knowledge and their applicability to mechanical solutions. Our work here is fostering design creativity and problem solving in our youth. I really enjoy knowing that my work here is inspiring and assisting kids to pursue their passions.  

-Ralph Lange, Bendix Academy Mentor 

I go to Kensington Woods High School, a small charter school in Lakeland, Michigan. I love school, but at Kensington, we don’t have many of classes other schools have, including shop class.

I first heard about Bendix Academy from a school counselor. I was curious, so I went to their workshop for a tour. The next think I knew I was learning to properly use a saw then design things in CAD!

Even if my school did have shop class, it wouldn’t be anything like Bendix. I also don’t have grandfathers who mentored me or anyone at home to take me to the garage and teach me how to take apart an engine, fix my bike, or do electrical work.

Today I am part of Bendix Academy and I am learning all these things – things no other kids learn at my school. Things like how to run a hydraulic press, lay a welding bead, and fabricate airplane wings.

I’m able to participate at Bendix thanks to a scholarship. I’m from a big family – the middle of seven kids – and sometimes money is limited. Scholarship support from generous people have allowed me to attend, learn, and expand my horizons.

Bendix is giving me an equal standing in a male dominated arena and is giving me a foundation that will empower me to rise to the top in my field. I am expanding my horizons because of people who donate and make my participation here possible.

Bendix changed my life. Without Bendix, it would have never occurred to me to pursue a career in manufacturing. And the financial support provided made my education here possible. Support Bendix and you’ll support untapping young talent and potential and help empower more teens like me find their futures!

– Zelie, Bendix student

I believe it’s imperative to give back to younger generations after four decades in industry. I love seeing students learn – they’re like sponges, eagerly absorbing the lessons. Bendix is giving them exciting insights into potential career paths in the skilled trades.

I love seeing our students learn – they are like sponges, eagerly absorbing the new knowledge we share with them. And I hear all the time from parents about the transformations they see in their children thanks to their experiences at Bendix.

I’m a retired mechanical engineer and believe it’s imperative to give back to younger generations the knowledge I gleaned after four decades in industry.

There are precious few opportunities for today’s youth to learn fundamental skills in the use of tools. Bendix Academy provides a unique and important venue for adolescents to acquire valuable hands-on skills unavailable in the schools. Their experiences also provide them valuable and exciting insights into potential career paths in the skilled trades.

-Alex Mangani, Bendix Academy Mentor

My son has Asperger’s Syndrome, a high functioning condition on the Autism Spectrum. Grey has a savant memory of fact and details, but his condition makes it difficult for him to socialize, engage, and fit in with children his own age. In middle school he was very shy, lacked confidence, and was severely introverted.

For years, I tried find ways to help Grey embrace and appreciate his unique gift, but it was always challenging. He has a love of learning and a need to learn things that our schools and I could not provide. As a single mother, I was stressed.

Then came Bendix Academy.

A serendipitous encounter one afternoon led to Grey’s participation in a program that fostered his natural and unique talents and unleashed his untapped potential. Working alongside a team of mechanically minded mentors at Bendix, Grey found his calling and his “happy place”.

He spends countless hours at the Academy, learning toolmanship skills and forming relationships with adults who grow his confidence, foster his interests, and build a skillset he’d never have been able to acquire anywhere else.

This incredible, unique program took Grey to the next level, helping him unearth a passion for mechanical ingenuity. Through positive reinforcement for all he was learning, he was given a space to build on his natural interest, his innate curiosity, and God-given talents. He’s becoming fluent in the art of trade skills and has laid a launching pad for his self-starting curiosity, self-confidence, and his future.

In just three short months, I went from seeing my son enter middle school feeling isolated, shunned, and outcast and transform into to a young man full of passion and maturity. Today as a high schooler, he thrives in social settings and is confident in his interactions.

Grey has come so very far because of his experiences at Bendix Academy. And for that, I am grateful beyond words.

– Genessa Lane Claeys, Grey’s mother

Serving as a mentor at Bendix gives me the opportunity to convey my life and career skills to young people. We are familiarizing them with many skills used both in the home and in professional trade positions.

Day after day here, I watch their confidence grow in so many ways. I witness the satisfaction they get with the hands-on problem solving our lessons provide.

My payback in all of this? Seeing the smiles on the students’ faces as they learn new skills. And parents’ excitement in watching their child mature by experiencing Bendix’s toolmanship program.

-Rodney Beckwith III, Bendix Academy Mentor