Weber State student accelerates career through automotive technology degree
OGDEN, Utah — Isabel Tuman, a third-generation automotive technician from California, grew up attending professional drag races — experiencing her first at just 6 weeks old — and fixing cars with her dad.
“I was 3 years old, working in the garage, holding up sheet metal as my dad drilled it,” Tuman said.
Though she initially pursued careers in fitness, beauty, and marketing, her passion for motorsports led her to seek a degree in automotive technology.
“I kind of did everything until I found it,” Tuman said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I could do cars for a job!’ That's my lifelong passion.”
After earning an associate degree in automotive technology from a community college in Huntington Beach, California, Tuman sought schools with strong online automotive technology bachelor's programs. Her goals were to have the flexibility to work on cars around the country full time while earning a degree.
She discovered WSU’s Department of Automotive Technology, which provides online options for students to build on their associate’s of automotive service technology and earn a bachelor’s degree.
“We designed the Automotive Technology bachelor of science degree to be accessible and meet students where they are, both in life and in the country,” said Jessica Slater, automotive technology department chair.
To support students in their online coursework, Weber ships class materials and tools directly to students’ doors.
“I was able to learn how to code from my dining room table,” Tuman said. “It was really, really awesome.”
Tuman, now an electric vehicle technician for an AI-based electric vehicle sales platform called Ever, visited WSU Davis in Layton to attend a weeklong EV5 boot camp course, where students learn to repair electric vehicles.
“Going onto campus at Weber and seeing the technology and the facility, I was like, ‘Whoa, I wish I had gone to Weber all four years!’” Tuman said. “If you want to go into diesel, learn about electric vehicles, or be a general mechanic, Weber has everything.”
Tuman says meeting her peers and professors in person was encouraging.
“It was really cool to see how supportive this community that I’d never met before was,” Tuman said. “And I have to give a lot of credit to my professors, Scott Holland and Brandon Stevenson, because they just see so much potential in me, which means a ton.”
Over the summer, Tuman partnered with an all-female group of racers and mechanics sponsored by the Jessi Combs Foundation, created in honor of the renowned professional racer. Together, Tuman and her team competed in the Great Race, a vintage vehicle race along Route 66 where teams must hit checkpoints without maps, phones, or outside mechanical help.
“I want to inspire women to join the trades and join motorsports. That’s what it’s all about for me,” Tuman said.
This December, the 4.0 GPA scholar will be the first in her family to receive a university diploma, a feat she didn’t know was possible until only a few years ago.
“My friends and I grew up in blue-collar families,” Tuman said. “At first, we thought college was not meant for us; we wanted to work on race cars, we wanted to be welders. Weber makes it happen, they really do.”
Next on Tuman’s agenda, aside from her EV technician work, is getting sponsorships to race her hand-rebuilt Ford Bronco in the Rebelle Rally in October, an all-female, GPS-free race across the Nevada and California deserts. Her long-term goal is to transform the future of the automotive industry.
“My dream job is to work in a research and development engineering facility,” Tuman said. “I want to drive down the road one day with my kids and say, ‘Your mom helped invent that.’”
Alexis Cirkovic, News Coordinator
801-626-7362, alexiscirkovic@weber.edu- Contact:
Alexis Cirkovic, News Coordinator
801-626-7362, alexiscirkovic@weber.edu