The whirs of drills and impact guns are a familiar sound to senior Matthew Chater. Chater has been a part of the Automotive Technology class and a dual-campus student since his sophomore year, as well as a member of the UIL competition team for Auto Tech.

“My grandfather has always worked on cars for as long as I can remember,” Chater said. “He has taught me a lot and when I found out that they had an automotive program, I knew I wanted to try it.”

Chater has been training and preparing for these competitions since sophomore year when he walked through the garage door at Rouse High School. He competed this year for the first time and has had three first place wins, along with two honorable mentions across the state of Texas. Although he is a new addition to the team, he isn’t new to working on cars. 

“My dad and I started working on cars together over COVID-19 when we were bored and wanted to do something outside together,” Chater said. “We agreed on our first project car, which is my 2016 Ford Mustang GT. It was initially a wrecked car and took us about eight months to get it fully street legal due to all the damage it had.”

Being a part of a dual school program had its challenges that Chater had to learn to overcome. Following COVID-19, he had to find transportation back and forth between Rouse and Cedar Park. As he reached junior year, and eventually senior year, he was able to overcome that challenge and focus on other ways to achieve success. 

“Being a part of a UIL team, such as Auto Tech, has taught me a lot,” Chater said. “Responsibility for myself and my grades, as well as discipline for myself were very important stills I needed to learn my sophomore year and has helped me succeed ever since.”

According to Chater, he has been able to achieve more than he was originally expecting when he joined the class.

“At first I wasn’t expecting anything and was there to have fun and learn,” Chater said.  “But as time went on and I started coming in first place, my expectations started to grow with more wins under my belt. It was a good feeling to continuously win, and I am now heading to Nationals at the end of July to compete against forty-nine other state winners.”

Throughout Chater’s automotive career, he has had a lot of people that have made an impact on his success.

“Both my parents and teachers have always been so supportive,” Chater said. “It kept me motivated to continue working towards my passion. I just wanted to make my teacher, who has taught and supported me throughout my years in their class, proud. Their passion, not only for automotive, but for teaching, has helped me succeed in competitions and in life.”

In effort to pursue a future in automotive technology, Chater plans to continue to work part-time at the shop he works at now, in hopes to be sent to a trading school in California to get his certificate in Audi Automotive. He is excited to start working full-time and making connections with dealerships.

“I didn’t know what my future was going to look like before I found automotive,” Chater said. “Ever since I put the class on my schedule, it has opened so many doors for me, and given me so many great opportunities to be seen by brands and dealerships so I can continue to do what I am passionate about for the rest of my life.”