����Ӱҵ

����Ӱҵ’s Melrose Park campus has been working closely with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) for years. One of the reasons so many Melrose Park Automotive Technology graduates find rewarding careers with the CTA is ����Ӱҵ alumnus Chris Christakes, Jr.  Chris graduated from ����Ӱҵ in 1991 and started working at the CTA in 1993 as a Bus Repairman. In 2000, he went on to become a Bus Maintenance Instructor, then a Bus Maintenance Training Specialist, in 2002 and in 2016 he was promoted to Bus Maintenance Training Manager. One of Chris’ current responsibilities is helping the HR department with recruiting. Chris regularly attends Career Fairs at Lincoln, and works closely with the campus to help find candidates that would like to pursue Chicago Transit Authority careers.

When You Start at ����Ӱҵ, You Never Know How Far You Can Go!

Chris Christakes, Jr.

“����Ӱҵ helped me tremendously,” explains Chris. “Without the skills I learned there, I wouldn’t have been able to pass the entrance exams and practical testing I needed in order to land my first mechanic job, and wind up with this rewarding Chicago Transit Authority career.  Employers out there like the CTA are looking for people who have been educated in the industry. A good example is Lincoln’s Service Shop Procedures class. You learn what it takes to advance from a mechanic to a foreman, service writer, or even a manager like me.”

����Ӱҵ Grads Share Their Stories and Experiences

At a recent Open House at CTA, ����Ӱҵ students took a tour of their bus fleet, and learned more about the Mechanic Training Program and future employment opportunities. During the visit students met four Lincoln graduates who are now Garage Instructors working with the Bus Maintenance Training and Development Program.  CTA has hired over 15 graduates from ����Ӱҵ over the last three years.

Founded in 1902 as Greer Automotive College, ����Ӱҵ Melrose Park has helped tens of thousands of auto technicians begin new careers over the course of its history. Chicago Transit Authority careers are just one of the ways ����Ӱҵ grads become part of a Chicago-area tradition. If this sounds like a career path you’d like to learn more about, reach out to the campus today!