There are pivotal moments for everyone’s teenage years, but the one that everyone remembers most is their first car.

The car culture at both Maize and Maize South is one of great pride with some kids spending most of their time and money on their cars.

Maize High junior Chris Fulton has a 1991 Mercedes 190e AMG and a 1998 Mercedes SL500 and is going into a career of automotive tech. Fulton’s first job was working with foreign cars.

“I realized I had a passion for cars when I saw a BMW e30 and thought that it looked cool,” Fulton said. “From there it sparked into something I’ll always value in life.”

Fulton’s favorite part about working on cars is the learning experience.

“It’s a trial and error type of thing,” Fulton said. “I get a feeling of success after finally getting a gasket to set correctly or when I set my timing correctly.”

The struggle to stay motivated is what affects Fulton the most.

“It’s easy to become frustrated and give up completely, but the first drive after fixing it makes it worth the effort,” Fulton said.

Fulton has already lined up job opportunities for himself after high school.

“I have multiple job opportunities ranging from a local repair shop all the way to Porsche of Wichita, so I have a few decisions to make once I graduate,” Fulton said

Maize South senior, Trey Cornette, has been passionate about cars since he started watching YouTube videos about them as a fourteen year old. The videos were able to give him knowledge on what type of car he wanted, and he saved up the money to buy a Ford Mustang for himself. 

“It felt really good cause I had been wanting it for a couple years,” Cornette said.

There are many factors that contribute to why Cornette picked the car he did. 

“It was a good price, it was extremely fast, it was well-built,” Cornette said.

Cornette hopes to someday own a Shelby GT500. The car, named after American automotive designer and racer, Carroll Shelby, is the most powerful car Ford has ever built. 

“Shelby is just a legendary person in racing history and that’s a car that’s named after him,” Cornette said. 

Maize High senior Matthew Wilson dreams of having a Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R and has grown an interest in cars over the years of his childhood.

“It’s always been like a family thing,” Wilson said.

Wilson gets a feeling of escape when working with cars

“The satisfaction of making something your own and kind of an escape,” Wilson said.

Maize High junior Nick Biddle grew up around cars and just began working on a 1991 Honda Civic.

“I grew up around racing and motorsports like World Rally and Formula One watching races early in the morning with my dad,” Biddle said.

Biddle enjoys working on cars the most. .

“My favorite thing about working on cars is the satisfaction after the fact from successfully fixing the problem or making it better,” Biddle said.

Biddle is not planning on a career in the automotive industry, but hopes to continue his passion on the side.

“I definitely would love to have the ability to work and share my passion for them on the side,” Biddle said.