Mr. Jim Enz
Precision Metalworking
by Amber Olbrot
To many teachers, its about guiding their students to achieve greatness and use their skills they learned to take them far in life. Mr. James Enz , Precision Metalworking Instructor, not only sees his students as students, but also as his own children.
Mr. Enz attended Westview High School in Kankakee. While in high school, he came here to KACC to study Automotive Technology and Precision Metalworking. As a matter of fact, he started here when he was a sophomore and continued all through his senior year of high school. After graduating in 1975, Mr. Enz went to Kankakee Community College for a couple of years to learn more about automobiles and metalworking.
After college, Mr. Enz took his education abilities and put them to the test as an auto mechanic at Sears for 15 years. Some familiar faces popped up while working there. Mr. Stand, our Auto Technology Instructor at KACC, also started working at Sears.
During his time at Sears, Mr. Enz was assigned as a Service Technician. As a Service Technician, Mr. Enz went to people's homes and learned to repair appliances, like washers, dryers, freezers, etc. Mr. Enz continued with Sears in this capacity for another seven years.
While still working at Sears, Mr. Enz started attending KARVES meetings held here at KACC. On one particular day while attending a KARVES meeting, Mr. Enz was informed KACC had a job opening for a Precision Metalworking teacher. Mr. Enz told me he "didn't even have to think twice" before applying for the job. He's now been with KACC for 11 years.
In the Precision Metalworking room, it is a sharing environment. Auto Technology classmates drop in from time to time to use the equipment. This gives Mr. Enz an opportunity to teach two different aspects on what students do in Precision Metalworking. For the automotive side, students learn about areas like front and rear suspension of the automobile. They also touch on the breaks, tires, and wheels. Mr. Enz even shows how to take apart the engine and, of course, put it back together, and basics like the use of a hinge here and there.
On the other side of precision metalworking, students work on the basics of metalworking. They build air engines, C-clamps, and many other projects. Students work taking a simple piece of steel and transforming it into something magnificent. Mr. Enz says this gives him great satisfaction to see the "light bulb" go off in their heads.
So much in one career can be overwhelming and during this interview, curiosity came to my mind on what motivated Mr. Enz to be a Precision Metalworking teacher. The answer simply is Mr. Enz loves to repair anything and loves to fabricate parts and tools.
Everyone has a pet peeve ~ Mr. Enz's pet peeve is more of a danger factor. He has to watch out for his students everyday. He wants to ensure the safety of his students ~ they cannot mess around with the machines or change the adjustments of the equipment. Doing either one of these can very well put the next person using it in danger by catching an article of clothing or starting a machine without the student being able to react. Being safe and learning from mistakes is what Mr. Enz teaches his students, not just in class, but in life.
As I mentioned in the beginning, Mr. Enz treats his students like his own children. He always worries about their safety around the machines and what their career motives will be in the future. All Mr. Enz can hope for is he guides them in the right direction to a well, promising future.
