Kerry Scott and the students look under the hood. Photo by Ashleigh Hawkins ’10.

‘Officer Kerry’ Gives Car-care Lessons

SUZANNE RAMSEY
College relations staff writer

Robyn Sanderson used her car to advertise the car-care clinic.

With Thanksgiving and winter breaks fast approaching, campus safety and the office of student involvement thought it would be a good idea if students knew how to deal with minor travel emergencies such as flat tires and dead batteries.

On Nov. 7, the two offices co-hosted a car-care clinic in Reid Pit. Led by Campus Safety Officer Kerry Scott, students learned, among other things, how to change a tire and jump start a battery.

Eighteen students, plus Robyn Sanderson, director of student involvement and programming, and her husband, Eric, showed up for the two-hour clinic. In addition to good advice and refreshments, tire gauges, air fresheners and door prizes — including jumper cables — also were distributed.

Changing a tire on Scott’s Jeep Cherokee was one highlight of the evening. To make the swap, however, the students had to find some leverage. “The students had a hard time getting the lug nuts off the tire and ended up standing on the crowbar in order to get the lug nuts loose,” Sanderson said.

“That was kind of funny, but it was also a good point that changing a tire is never convenient. The students were rewarded with hot chocolate and cookies for their hard work.”

Crystal Collins, a sophomore from Lusby, Md., attended the clinic. Standing in the 20-degree air, it didn’t take long for her to realize the importance of being prepared for a road trip.

“As we all huddled together to learn how to change a flat tire, we quickly learned the lesson of how important it is to keep your car prepared in case of an emergency — case in point, a blanket or extra coat for warmth,” she said.

“Overall, the session provided a friendly and relaxed atmosphere for all of us to share car problems and horror stories, and to learn the basics of car maintenance.”

Elizabeth Young ’11 agreed. “Officer Scott was so patient with all of us,” Young, of Mahomet, Ill., said. “Most of us had no clue about anything that has to do with cars, and I think that clinic really helped.”

Scott called the clinic “worthwhile” and said, “A couple of students had some interesting glitches with their cars which resulted in us having to have a long discussion on how automobile electrical systems work,” he said. “Specifically, we had to go to some depth into the job of the battery versus the job of the alternator.”

Although already schooled in the basics of car battery and alternator functions herself, senior Rebecca Penny said the car-care clinic was “empowering” for students. “I think that knowing how to do something, like changing your own flat or checking your tire pressure, is very empowering,” Penny, of Charlotte, N.C., said. “I’m glad that a good number of students came out to broaden their knowledge in a particularly relevant topic.”

“I think that we need to break the mentality that we have to go to someone else to put air in our tires or even to find out if we need it, and this is a good step in that direction.”

As a campus safety officer at Sweet Briar, Scott has run into some interesting car-related problems, including “a jack found rusted solid in a student’s trunk [and] another student not being able to get to her riding equipment because she laundered the keyless entry device for her car, etcetera.”

Scott knows his work as the resident “Car Guy” is far from over and plans to hold another clinic in the spring. He also has offered to help students on weekends “so they can learn the specifics of the vehicles they are driving.”

Sanderson said she has received good feedback from students about the event and plans to send out a survey soon. “We will use their feedback to help fine tune the presentation for the spring,” she said. “We would like to host the event in the spring and even another event early next fall when the weather is a little warmer.”