My name is Andrew Conklin, I grew up in Southwick Mass. I have two sisters (Alyssa and Amanda) and they are both younger than I am. I have been playing soccer for about sixteen years, and it is my favorite sport. In high school, we won Western Mass my Senior year, and I scored the winning plenty kick! Soccer is a large passion of mine but unfortunately I am unable to play at UMASS because of work and school. I work approximately thirty-five hours a week at a car repair shop in West Springfield called Century Auto. I absolutely love working there. I have a HUGE passion for cars and motorsports. There is just something about cars that has me hooked. I own a 2005 Subaru sti which i love driving. I have modified it some, consisting of a short-ram intake, full Perrin turboback exhaust, stage 2 tune (tuned by me using a COBB base map that I modified), manual boost controller, Tumbler deletes, porter exhaust manifold, ported turbo inlet, and a Nardi steering wheel for the interior. One day I wish to build a car from the ground up when I have more time. Working on cars is very stressful but is also rewarding. When someone comes in having no clue what is wrong with their car and you are able to fix it, than make the customer happy, is a great feeling. Its a skill not a lot of people have and I am thankful I have landed a job in which i have learned so much. I do not plan to be a mechanic my whole life as it is more of a passion/hobby than something i want to do. I am majoring in BCT (building and construction technology) and would be interested in doing project management. I currently have my Associates Degree in Mechanical Engineering which was another passion of mine until it was a little monotonous with the math. I knew that it would be heavily involved with math, but i decided to change my major into something more hands on at UMASS.