For many high school students, senior year is about creating lasting memories with friends and preparing for the future. But for one senior at Fayette County High, there was a different vision in mind – to create change.
That change started earlier this year when Lindsey Crook made history after becoming the first female to intern at the Fayette County Public School System’s bus shop. With a challenge full of greasy clothes, dirty hands, and hard labor ahead, Crook said “challenge accepted!”
Inspired by her father’s passion, Crook was excited to begin learning everything she could about diesel mechanics, “My father exposed me to this field, and he is the catalyst for me finding my love for this kind of work,” Crook says.
From an early age, Lindsey has always enjoyed working with her hands by taking things apart, putting them back together, and seeing what makes a particular object function, so this internship was the perfect way to continue in her passion.
A few days a week, Crook gets to live out part of her dream at Fayette’s bus shop where she gets her hands dirty and assists with bus inspections, maintenance, and various fleet repairs.
Fayette’s bus shop supervisor George Davis says, “The bus shop staff and I enjoy sharing our knowledge with her and helping her get a kick-start to her career goals.”
In this male-dominated field, Crook is greatly out-numbered, but she is not intimidated in the least. She uses her unique position to inspire other young girls including her nieces, “I hope I can be the first of many to level the playing field and also show women what we can really do when we put our minds to it. I am so honored and proud to be one of the women to do that.”
Lindsey is a part of the work-based learning program, which helps students prepare for careers of their own choosing and strengthen their understanding of academic concepts through practical application. Students in the program are in high school and have completed a career pathway; Crook has completed the Automotive Mechanic pathway.
Crook firmly believes that Fayette’s work-based program prepared her for this internship and her future, “Of course I’ve learned the fundamentals of diesel mechanics, but this program really embraced, encouraged, and empowered my dreams.”
With graduation months away, Crook plans to enlist in The United States Air Force and pursue a career in avionic electronics or aviation mechanics.
