Arturo Herrera
SEMA Garage
Diamond Bar, CA USA
"It doesn’t matter if people tell you that you can’t do something. If you listen to whatever people say, you are not going to get anywhere. You have to listen to your heart and listen to yourself."
Career Roadmap
Arturo's work combines: Engineering, Technology, and Learning / Being Challenged
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Day In The Life
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Is originally from Mexico City, Mexico.
2.
He has over 20 years of experience in the auto industry; he is currently specializing as an emissions lab technician for SEMA.
3.
Growing up, he was always playing with cars and was constantly surrounded by people who were mechanics working in body shops.
4.
As a teenager, his friend helped him buy his first “junk car”, which didn’t run and had missing parts.
5.
He started working on fixing it up little by little, which ignited his love for cars; discovered that he loved having to “work to make IT work.”
6.
He never had an opportunity to go to school or gain any formal training—everything he knows about fixing cars he learned “on the streets.”
7.
Says he feels a strong sense of pride and a personal connection to the parts and cars he tests—“I tested that product, there is a part of me in that car.”
8.
The language barrier has always been a struggle because of the variety of people he has to work and communicate with; it’s never held him back, but he says his next goal is to go back to school.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You'll never make it.
How I responded:
I don't listen to anybody else's negativity. I listen to God and myself. It can be kind of selfish, but it's the only way to get ahead.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
At age 18, I decided that I needed to do something with my life, so I sold my car, applied for a visa/passport, and came to the United States looking for the American Dream. The language barrier can sometimes be an obstacle.