Alumni Spotlight- July 2023

July 7, 2023

Nicolas Martinson used his education at WyoTech to skyrocket in his career and his passion.  Growing up in a small town in southern Oregon, he got into a project with his father restoring a 1952 Chevy truck when he was young.  He had the opportunity to stop in a well-established street rod shop in Southern California.  After talking to the owner and a couple of his employees who were WyoTech graduates, Nicolas knew that was where he wanted to go.  Taking Automotive Technology, Street Rod, Chassis Fabrication, and Applied Service Management, he says that WyoTech really pushed him to do better than he thought he could.  “There was a lot of stuff that I thought I could do quite well and that I was capable of doing, but the instructors definitely held me to higher standards than that.  I learned the skill to take that criticism and feedback from other people and really push myself to achieve more than I thought was possible.”  He goes on to say how instrumental this skill of learning from others has been in his career.  “I think a lot of people overlook that process, but to be able to take something that you think you did really well on and that you’re proud of, and to be able to listen to the feedback from someone else who maybe has a different view or perspective, that’s really how you can grow and improve, versus just thinking you nailed it and that you don’t need to grow and improve.”  He also stresses the importance of the ASM program. He says that without that part of his training, he never would have had the opportunities he has had, both in the automotive industry and out of it.

Nicolas also stresses the importance of following your passion.  Working for Ferrari for 10 years of his career, he says that he never would have been able to accomplish the things he did if it hadn’t been his passion.  “Working for Ferrari, traveling to Italy, seeing the factory, getting the recognition, meeting technicians from around the world, is an opportunity that is extremely rare and very unique and amazing…I never would have been able to do it and put in the work it required if it wasn’t my passion.”  He leaves current and future WyoTech students with the following advice.  “Never stop learning.  Basically my entire career, specifically automotive, once I adopted and embraced the mindset that there’s always something to learn, I could really see my skills start to grow, and it really became infectious, where I just became hungry for that learning and growth.  I urge you to hold yourselves to the higher standards, especially when no one’s looking.”