Angelina Alcantar, or most students know her as, Ms. A, is our first female Auto Shop teacher. Alcantar is the new teacher for our Colton High School Staff. So many students say that she is so nice and awesome, so she gave me the chance to get her point of view to see how it feels to be a female auto shop teacher.

She attended high school at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside and she is part of the 2006 graduating class. She had then attended Riverside Community College and graduated in 2010 with an associates of Science in Automotive Electrical. She now lives in Moreno Valley, which is not that far from Colton.  “I chose to be a teacher at Colton not only because it is near to me, but also because of the strong sense of community that CHS has the reputation for.”

Who and/or what inspired her to be a Auto Shop teacher? “I have been working on cars since I was in high school and I love being a technician, but when I started working at RCC as a supplemental instructor and was able to work with students in the automotive department, it became quite clear that teaching was my passion. I get to work with cool kids and talk about cars all day, who wouldn’t love that?”

Alcantar, as an auto shop teacher, obviously must have amazing cars, right? She owns a 74’ Porsche 911 SC, a 98’ Honda Civic with a fully built engine that she put together herself along with a turbo kit and full race suspension, and an 08’ Harley Sportster Low that has some modifications. She feels awesome about being a female Auto Shop teacher. She loves the support and acceptance that she receives from everyone on campus.

She is a very firm believer that everyone and anyone can be capable of doing what they want if they put their mind to it. Does she think the boys taking her course respect her as much as they would a guy teacher? “I feel that they do. I have a lot of information to share, and I feel that the students that want the information are willing to listen regardless of the source. My whole goal is to help students learn how cars work and how to fix them, and I think that most students can respect that.”

The last thing she shared was the background of her tattoos she has: “I have two tattoos on my arm. I have a turbo charger on my forearm because I am a huge fan of turbocharged engines and I like to go fast (on the track where it is legal of course).  My nickname through my career and school has always been “Turbo” because of my turbo Civic. On my bicep I have a portrait of the 1/8 mile race track at Irwindale. I used to race my civic there as a teen, as well as watch and help other friends with their cars while they raced there.” Alcantar is an amazing woman and teacher, from what students have said about her.  If you get the chance before your high school years are over make sure to take Alcantar’s course.