Class Act: Gerod Strother has auto tech programs firing on all cylinders
On Gerod Strother’s watch, Amarillo College’s Automotive, Diesel, and Auto Collision programs are firing on all cylinders, and it’s no wonder: Strother, the coordinator for all three programs, is eminently qualified to lead and to teach.
Strother holds a master’s degree in transportation and logistics management from American Military University, a credential he earned during 21 impactful years of service in the U.S. armed forces. He retired from his second branch of the military in 2020, and he spent the next two years as program coordinator and automotive instructor at Texas State Technical College in Sweetwater.
“Once I retired from the service, I transferred directly to being an instructor,” said Strother, who joined AC’s ranks in 2022. “Of course, I’ve always had a passion for the industry and the technology itself, but as I've started teaching, I guess that kind of woke up something inside of me that I didn't know was there.
“Turns out I really enjoy teaching. I love seeing the light bulb come on for these students when maybe it's something they never understood, never thought they were going to understand. I mean, I see it and it’s beautiful, and it probably drives me more to see that reaction from them than most any other thing right now.”
Strother was born and raised in Andrews, Texas, where an inspiring high school shop teacher encouraged him to pursue his interest in a variety of mechanical applications. A couple of his school projects carried him to state competition. Strother, who had been interested in joining a branch of the military for some years, decided in 1999 to ply his mechanical aptitude in the Air Force. He was immediately attached to an operations center focused on flight-line maintenance.
By 2001, Strother was doing electrical work on the B-2 Stealth Bombers that helped launch Operation Enduring Freedom. Later in the Air Force, he served as a heavy equipment automotive technician, then spent three years as a recruiter. Along the way he picked up associate degrees in aviation maintenance technology and vehicle maintenance technology, and in 2007 he completed a bachelor’s degree in security management at Southwestern College.
In 2009, he decided to take advantage of a relatively new program, the Defense Department’s “Operation Blue to Green,” an initiative designed to let members of the military transfer to the Army from other services.
“I loved the United States Air Force from 1999 through about 2009,” Strother said. “But I had finished my bachelor’s degree while I was on recruiting duty. I wanted to use that degree for advancement, and an opportunity came up.
“The Army was needing an excess of people, of soldiers to go in and finish the Second Surge (in the Iraq War) that was happening at the time,” he said. “In the Blue to Green program, everything transferred over, so I went to Fort Benning and got commissioned as a second lieutenant and then came out as a transportation and logistics officer.”
During about 10 years in the Army, Strother served as a logistics distribution manager with NATO forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan (2013); commanded and oversaw training of an army combat transportation unit (2014-2016); and, having achieved the rank of captain, became operations manager for the Butte (Mont.) Military Entrance Processing Station (2016-2020). He also completed his master’s degree in 2019, graduating with honors.
Strother was pleased to join the teaching ranks post-military; however, he was not crazy about living in Sweetwater. “I feel like I learned a lot there, great program, but I wanted to relocate,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed the Panhandle, and I had heard good things about Amarillo College, so I applied, got the job in 2022 as an instructor, and took the program coordinator position in 2023.”
Automotive technology is Strother’s strong suit, and he personally teaches several of AC’s introductory classes – engines, electrical braking, steering. Students who complete the core requirements can then choose to pursue a diesel pathway or stay on the automotive track.
“What makes all our programs excellent – automotive, diesel or collision – is our dedicated instructors,” Strother said. “They come from many walks, from the heavy equipment side to the farming side of the industry. They know smaller vehicles, too – automobiles, diesel pickups, all of it; they bring a wealth of knowledge to the program.”
To optimally prepare students to enter the workforce and achieve professional success, AC instructors strive to remain abreast of the changing technological landscape.
“We have to train and join webinars just like everyone else,” Strother said. “I join a webinar once a week, learning some kind of new trend or technique that we need to turn around and teach students. I love giving them the confidence to go forward.
“I have students that are 17 years old and students that are 60 years old,” he said. “Everyone is welcome, and we all have a good time. I give it my best every day. I try to treat everyone the same. We’ve got all different diverse walks of life coming in here, men and women, and it's very important to me that we maintain a good learning environment, that they experience the same joy that I do when they know what a piston is, how it moves inside of an engine, how the engine works, how we take it apart, how we check it, how we put it back together, how to make it run at its maximum efficiency.
“I experience a lot of joy when I see that they get it, that they understand a concept,” Strother said. “I want this part of their lives to be something that they can look back on and be like, ‘man, that was a good time in my life right there.’”
Strother and his wife of 18 years have two kids – the eldest has just started to drive. He enjoys hunting, welding and, of course, tinkering with engines in his shop at home, which is decorated top to bottom in a Dale Earnhardt Sr. motif.