Diesel student Jacob Newport (DT-282) is fond of the ‘go big or go home’ attitude when it comes to diesel. “I came here to OTC because I wanted to work on big diesel trucks and equipment. The bigger the better.” Newport followed his brother up to Cleveland from Scott County, TN to train at Ohio Technical College. His brother is in OTC’s American V-Twin program. “We came up a week before classes started to get familiar with the area.” The Newport brothers wasted no time in finding work. “I got a job within days and my first day of school was my first day on the job.” Newport is working for Ohio Bulk taking his classroom training right to the job. Newport is also taking advantage of a new training option at OTC, the Daimler Get Ahead partnership program. This is free online manufacture specific training on Detroit Diesel, Freightliner and Western Star brands. It covers, Heavy Duty Truck Systems, Electrical Troubleshooting, Electronic Systems, CEEA+, HVAC, M2, Cascadia, Western Star and DD Heavy Duty, DD Medium Duty. It requires students to spend time out of class to watch the videos and take the required tests. Newport initially was skeptical but decided to take the first step and did the opening set of training which was HVAC. “Once I got started I was learning so much and I aced my MACS 609 test!” Newport laughs and admits he is looking forward to taking and passing the MACS 608 next week. Newport is now completely immersed in this advanced opportunity. “I spend about 3 hours a night on watching videos and completing the required tests.” Newport estimates he has completed about 30 of them and doesn’t plan on stopping. Newport graduates in March 2023 and if he continues at this pace and at this level of discipline and dedication he will have completed the 81 video series well before graduation. “I want the best employment offers and career opportunities after I graduate and I know this additional training will get me there.”