Tire marks paint the black concrete of a secluded parking lot on University of Northwestern Ohio鈥檚 campus in Lima. This semester, student Eric Kananowicz is adding to the canvas.
His tricked-out car spun across the pavement. Clouds of smoke and dust engulfed it as he did donuts around a pole. The car looked like it could spin out at any moment.
But that鈥檚 an illusion, said Kananowicz.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just controlled chaos. But there's a lot more to it than just laying your foot down and letting the car drive around,鈥� Kananowicz said. 鈥淚t does take a lot of inputs from your brakes, your handbrake, your clutch, your shifter, your steering wheel. It鈥檚 not just doing a big burnout, going sideways.鈥�
These chaotic maneuvers are illegal on most public lots, but here at UNOH, it鈥檚 a part of the learning process. Kananowicz is studying high performance motorsports, like NASCAR or Formula One.
鈥淢y end goal is to be a Formula Drift driver and just be able to drive as a career. I just wanna be behind the wheel and have fun,鈥� he said.
But his degree is about more than having fun. In Ohio, where some of the top auto manufacturers 鈥� Ford, Stellantis, Honda 鈥� have put down roots, automotive and manufacturing technicians are in high demand.
At the University of Northwestern Ohio, students are racing to get technical degrees and meet the need.
Majoring in motorsports
The Ohio private college has made motorsports its niche. Not only can you join Kananowicz鈥檚 drifting club, there鈥檚 also . The university even in town. Anyway you can race, the university has a club for it, said Dean Hobler, the provost of the university.
鈥淲e want to be not only the best, but the only one doing things like this,鈥� he said.
The extracurricular offerings are an extension of what鈥檚 going on inside the classroom, where they鈥檙e teaching students how to build, repair and maintain cars, Hobler said. He pointed to Kananowicz, who, having finished his donuts, started working to repair his shifter.
鈥淎ll of the things that go on in this car technically take place in the car that you drive down the street: the suspension, the tires, the brakes, all of the engine components,鈥� Hobler said. 鈥淭hey're all connected. So he has a lifelong career.鈥�
Teaching the trades
Since the 70s, the college has focused on the automotive and agribusiness industries. Around three-fourths of the university鈥檚 students are in the trades programs.
While many rural communities to meet industry demand, Lima is the exception, according to Georgetown University researcher Zack Mabel.
鈥淯nlike most other parts of the country, they actually are producing a very large share of certificates and associate's degrees in blue collar fields,鈥� Mabel said. 鈥淭hey're a unicorn to some extent.鈥�
The university has with Formula Drift and Daytona International Speedway and alumni in nearly every professional motorsport, but Hobler said they also work with the local community to see how they can meet Lima鈥檚 technical needs.
So, while many students, like Kananowicz, dream of making it big and burning rubber on the track, Hobler said they don鈥檛 have to be behind the wheel to leave their mark.
鈥�We have students that walk out of here making $100,000 a year. And it's not always clean and it's not an office and it's not with a tie. But I think Ohio should appreciate what we're doing to keep technicians out in the workforce,鈥� Hobler said.
