Major: Automotive Service Technology
When David Borowski was growing up, he learned about cars from his dad.
“He was always buying used cars, fixing them up and selling them,” he said. “We had old muscle cars and would take them drag racing. He taught me how to drive stick in a 1980 Camaro.”
Borowski wanted a career connected to cars and initially attended Northern Illinois University to become a mechanical engineer and be part of the design process. But he soon realized this was not the right path for him.
“I didn’t like all the math involved with that degree, so I just got my gen eds done and left NIU,” he said. “I decided to come to College of DuPage and get my associate degree in Automotive Technology.”
Helping him with tuition was a scholarship through the Grainger Tools for Tomorrow Scholarship program. While at COD, Borowski was approached by a faculty member to become an automotive lab aid. He took the position and worked at night, setting up the shop and moving the cars.
After graduating, he found a job at a car dealership during the day and kept his lab aid job at COD. Several years later, Borowski was again approached by a faculty member, who pushed him to try teaching.
“It was an intro class and he thought I would be good at it,” he said. “I agreed to teach one semester and had fun. The next semester, I taught a 16-week class and haven’t really left since.”
The education as a whole at COD was incredible.
David Borowski
He continued to teach after being laid off from the dealership. Fed up with that situation, Borowski spoke with his fellow instructors and decided to continue his education. He was accepted at Southern Illinois University and began taking classes on the weekends around the same time he was called back to the dealership.
“I was working for one month and asked for a weekend off for school,” he said. “They said no, and I decided to quit. They were not going to keep me from returning to school, so I got a job at a mom-and-pop shop in Downers Grove that was fully supportive of my education.”
After earning his bachelor’s degree, Borowski was asked by one of his SIU instructors—who also taught full time at Joliet Junior College—if he would consider teaching at JJC. Borowski applied and is now a full-time faculty member.
“I fell into teaching and love it,” he said. “I’ve made so many connections—everyone in this field knows everyone, all of the auto instructors in the state go to semester conferences, so I can see everyone and catch up. I like to give back, and because of the connections I’ve made, I can use them to help students.”
Borowski now has another part-time job, working on a National Hot Rod Association drag racing team during the summer. He travels mainly throughout the Midwest and helps keep the cars in racing condition.
As for COD, he definitely recommends the Automotive Service Technology program, through which he also met one of his best friends.
“The education as a whole at COD was incredible,” he said. “I knew simple stuff on cars but didn’t know the more advanced issues or some of the ‘whys.’ I learned far more at COD than I would have just working in a shop and watching the old-timers.
“I would recommend that students definitely enroll if they are on the fence. All of the faculty are great, even the adjuncts. You learn a lot, especially things you don’t think of when fixing or diagnosing a car. Without going to school, you will not gain those skills.”
Learn more about the Automotive Services Technology program at College of DuPage