David Wyatt III.
Dave Wyatt III is not just your typical student from Swenson Arts and Technology High School.
Wyatt is originally from Battle Creek, Michigan, and moved to the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia, over a decade ago. He is from a family of six, which includes his father, mother, and three siblings.
Four years ago, Wyatt decided that he wanted to attend Swenson for his high school education. He knew a student named Matt, who was attending Swenson at the time. Matt told Wyatt all of the great opportunities that Swenson had to offer, which ultimately led him to decide that the school was the perfect fit for him.
Wyatt was always interested in cars growing up, so it was only fitting that he wanted to work on them as a living. Lucky for him, Swenson offers an automotive program.
He was accepted into the program, as well as two other programs, which was the path he would decide to take in his high school career.
“Swenson gave me a path into fleet management, which has been awesome for me,” Wyatt said. “If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have a city job.”
Wyatt emphasized how Swenson provided him with hands-on, unique learning experiences that exceptionally prepared him for life post-graduation.
“I would tell you that everything that goes on in shop class is pretty unique,” Wyatt responded when asked what was unique about his learning experience. “It is pretty awesome, I have been very lucky.”
One of those unique learning opportunities was through the Philadelphia Department of Fleet Management.
“[The Department of Fleet Management] reached out to the [Career and Technical Education] schools and asked for interns,” he explained.
Wyatt was selected as one of the interns for the city of Philadelphia.
“We would get out of school on Thursdays and Fridays, and go to the city fleet shop,” Wyatt said. “My first couple of months, I shadowed and watched, but now I am two years in, so I have actually done a lot of things on cars.”
Working in the fleet shop, Wyatt has worked on “everything that moves”, from chainsaws to police cars and snow trucks.
When it comes to work done inside Swenson itself, Wyatt was nothing short of excited to talk about it.
“I had a very small shop class, like six or seven students in it,” he said. “We all got a lot of attention from the teacher and got to do a lot more stuff than other students might get to do, which made everybody in my class really successful.”
Wyatt is very grateful for the path that Swenson gave him for life post-graduation and future goals.
“[Working in the Philadelphia Department of Fleet Management] is a stable job. It is a government job,” he said. “Can’t beat that starting at 16 years old.”
Wyatt recalled his favorite memory at Swenson, and it was just another testimony to the hands-on learning experience he was provided at Swenson.
He explained that his teacher helped them work on their personal cars, which was a rewarding experience.
“I installed a $2,000 speaker system on my car with my teacher,” he said with a smile on his face. “I never installed a speaker system before, I didn’t even know how they worked, and he said just pull your car in and I’ll teach you.”
Swenson Arts and Technology High School. (Credit: Philadelphia School District)
Wyatt explained how cool it was to be a part of a school that pushed students to want to learn and want to grow.
“Kids from other programs would pull their car into the shop for us to work on,” he said. “Everybody is learning. It’s so awesome.”
Wyatt’s current shop teacher, Mr. Benjamin Starceszki, impacted him the most during his time at Swenson.
“He was really awesome, he meant a lot,” Wyatt said. “He just gave great life advice, and I learned a lot about cars from him as well.”
Wyatt graduated from high school on Wednesday, June 11, as a member of the Swenson Class of 2025.
“Swenson definitely gave me a head start,” Wyatt said with appreciation. “I have met a lot of other people my age looking to be in the same place as me, and I definitely feel like I am ahead of them.”
