Jordan Chase, head mechanic for the Frewsburg Central School District isn’t much for the spotlight. That’s why his boss had to lie to him to get him to the New York Association for Pupil Transportation ceremony when he was awarded the NYAPT Technician of the Year Award.
“If I’d known they were giving me an award, I wouldn’t have gone,” the Frewsburg United School Employees member said with a laugh. Still, the award means a lot to him. “It’s nice to know they value the work I do,” Chase said. “It’s very humbling.”
“For me, work comes before everything,” he said. “I work hard, and I take a lot of pride in what I do.” Chase is the first person to arrive at the Frewsburg transportation department each day. “I clock in at 6am,” he said. Usually, he answers the phones and gets the drivers on their way before heading over to the garage to keep the district’s fleet of 14 buses and six cars roadworthy. He is the district’s only mechanic, but because of driver shortages, he sometimes drives buses, too. “We’re a family,” he says, describing the department. “In spite of our size, I think we’re one of the best around.”
Chase’s father owned a garage, and so he grew up fixing cars; he always knew he’d work on machinery. What he didn’t expect was that he’d have a positive impact on students, but that’s exactly what’s happened – and it’s become Chase’s favorite part of the job.
It all started in 2023, when a senior at the high school was on the verge of failing, and the principal asked Chase if he could mentor him. Chase took the student under his wing, showing him how to rebuild an engine at the garage, and encouraging him to finish his studies and graduate. “I told him he couldn’t work on the engine until he did his schoolwork,” he said. The motivation worked; the student successfully graduated and is now studying welding – a skill he learned from Chase - at Jamestown Community College.
After that, the principal paired him with another struggling student, and again, Chase helped him get back on track with his studies, finish high school, and get a job at a local tire business. “I taught him how to work in a shop, how to work with other people, and what’s expected of you,” he said. The student still stops by the garage regularly to visit Chase and get his advice.
Chase admits that he seems to have a knack for working with students. “I just get down on their level. I didn’t do bad in school, but I never wanted to be there, so I can relate to them on a real-world level,” he said.
Based on his success with the two students, the district has decided to assign him a student every spring, and Chase is more than willing to help.
“I think I was put here for a reason,” Chase said.