Numerous Shoreham-Wading River High School students take advantage of the BOCES

Career and Technical Education offerings to enhance their academic knowledge with technical and occupational skills, often through hands-on learning and pathways to specific job fields.

Rising senior Christopher Murray is one such student who used initiative and drive to restore a 1942 Farmall tractor to its full glory!

Christopher, a student in the BOCES Auto Mechanic Program, came across the nonworking tractor on a farm, saved up money and purchased it with plans to restore it. He is known in his family as a young entrepreneur who has been mechanically inclined since a young age, doing small-engine repairs on machinery such as push lawn mowers, weed whackers, power washers, snow blowers and ride-on mowers. He was often presented with items that people no longer wanted, which he then repaired and sold. He has restored several Wheel Horse tractors as well as a 1951 Ford 8N tractor, and most recently drove the Farmall tractor in the Southold Fourth of July parade.

Christopher’s BOCES course continues to inspire him and prepare him for a successful career right out of high school. There, in addition to specialized mechanical qualifications, he is learning soft skills including adaptability, communication, self-reliance and problem-solving.