It was a “Field of Dreams” moment for auto tech teacher Jesse Munoz. 

But instead of hearing someone whisper to him the classic line, “If you build it, he will come,” from the 1989 film about erecting a baseball diamond in Iowa, a similar statement inspired Munoz: “If you renovate it, they will come.”

And with $300,000 in funding from the North Orange County Regional Occupation Program, he was able to do just that. 

“As a teacher, it is not something that happens all the time to be able to be so involved in your program,” Munoz said. “Because I have had the ability to, I have been grateful.”

To prepare for the oncoming renovations to students’ work space, Munoz said he removed all student desks from Room 131 in December, moving them into the connecting auto shop in Room 132. This made room for the installers to place 15 new black tool chests along with their own tools around the two areas.

As the learning environment changed, students did not find themselves sitting in typical, single-student school desks in the classroom but rather two rows of connected black tables with matching chairs gathered around a ViewSonic, big-screen TV. 

Students such as junior Jacob Kudler — who has second period Advanced Auto Tech — were not aware of the renovations before entering the class the day after the big change.

“It was really shocking to see it happen so suddenly,” Kudler said. “However, it was a nice change of pace.” 

Their previous classroom haven of Room 131 is now filled with small sofas and chairs oriented to look at the large engine display centered in the room. With the Lancer colors of black and gold checkering the new SwissTrax flooring, this small room was the catalyst for many changes to the familiar class. 

Now, many other colorful engine displays can be found lining the wall near the double door entrance of Room 132. 

“I have noticed that the move has helped the people who are working on their cars by making more room to store tools and parts,” said junior Angie Veeder, who is in Munoz’s fourth period Intro to Auto Tech Class. 

The extreme makeover started in the fall semester and ended Friday, March 1. However, five days later on Wednesday, March 6 school site funds for campus improvements were used to cover the cost of installing windscreens on the fencing surrounding a parking lot leading to the back side of Room 131, assistant principal Sarah Murrietta said.

On the left side of the fence, the center of the screens feature the words, “SUNNY HILLS HIGH SCHOOL,” in Lancer yellow; the left side of the gate that can swing open has the school’s “SH” logo — the same ones placed outside doors of classrooms at the beginning of this school year.

 The right side of the swinging gate has in its center the Lancer knight — also placed outside doors on campus at the start of the school year — and covering the rest of the fence to its right are the words in yellow, “AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY.”

“They are all parts of the improvements of our program, and Sunny Hills has helped provide that sweet-looking improvement,” The auto shop teacher said. 

Munoz said the changes have also saved him more instructional time each class period. Despite this, the finalized plans as to where the students’ desks would be moved were highly debated, with the Auto Tech teacher making the final decision on their placement. 

After going through nearly a semester with this new arrangement, Munoz said that both he and other administrators agree that the new locations of the desks have had the most beneficial of the possible outcomes. 

“I don’t have to pull them from the classroom because everything and everyone is already in the shop so they can see it in real life,” he said. 

The change also encourages a better learning environment for the students participating in the new competitive engine-building team that was first introduced in December. This competition season has two groups, one holding seven students and one holding four. 

“[The room] has opened it up to where we have our own space,” said junior Jared Dye, who is in Munoz’s third and fourth period Auto Tech classes. “[Now] we are not trying to compete with anyone for space or tools — it is just a space for engine building.” 

The team practices before the start of school, following the same schedule as zero period on Wednesdays, in the newly renovated auto shop classroom to work on meeting the competition time limit of 30 minutes to deconstruct and rebuild various engine types, Munoz said. 

Their attendance at the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association [SEMA] contest in Las Vegas in November relied on the “Hot Rodders of Tomorrow” competition which took place on Sunday, May 5. The teams did not advance because they did not complete the required tasks within the given time limit. 

With the access to their new equipment, some team members focus both their morning practice time and their class time in the newly renovated room, perfecting the skills required to compete, Dye said. 

“There are people who will work on it during their class periods a lot as well,” he said. “But personally, I don’t because in class I have the freedom to work on my own personal projects.” 

However, the renovation comes with a downside as well, Munoz said. 

Because of the open space designated for the new “classroom,” the room is more susceptible to temperature changes — especially during the winter. To combat this, Munoz placed a standing heater near the TV to keep students warm on colder days, he said. 

“The heater helped me warm up my body while I was working on my car,” Kudler said. “Overall, I felt more comfortable in the shop with it on during the cold days.”

Despite this, the autoshop teacher said both he and his students have a positive attitude toward the renovations.

“The majority of us see the positive and think it was a good idea,” Munoz said. “This [setup] makes it a lot easier for me as a teacher to give them a more well-rounded experience.”