Seven Greater Lawrence Technical School students spent five weeks this summer doing more than learning to fix cars. They watched the people who needed those cars drive them away.

The rising seniors completed a pilot co-op program with Second Chance Cars, a Massachusetts nonprofit that provides affordable vehicles to veterans, formerly incarcerated individuals, and people experiencing homelessness. Working full time from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., five days a week, the students refurbished 21 donated vehicles at the GLTS auto body shop on the school's Andover campus between June 23 and Friday, July 25.

They were paid for their labor.

At a handoff ceremony that morning, students Gabby Clayton and Laila Nunez unveiled one of the finished cars before its new owner drove it out of the shop. Clayton said the students didn't know who would receive the vehicles while they worked on them, making the moment they saw recipients' faces all the more powerful.

"They deserve it," Clayton said.

A seven-year partnership goes deeper

GLTS and Second Chance Cars have worked together for seven years, according to lead automotive technology instructor Michael Ouellette. But this summer marked the first time the nonprofit ran an internal co-op at any of its 10 vocational school partners.

The idea originated with Ouellette, according to Second Chance Cars' website. Executive Director Dan Holin, who founded the Concord-based nonprofit in 2019, acted on it in March, contacting GLTS to set the program in motion. Superintendent John Lavoie and the school committee approved it, and three additional instructors — James Braga, Christopher Charles, and Jason Jalbert — volunteered weeks of their summer to supervise.

GLTS instructors interviewed and selected seven students, structured so six worked in the shop each day with one alternate. The pace was faster than classroom work, simulating a car dealership environment rather than a school setting.

Student Dariel Martinez said the best part was knowing he was helping someone in need while gaining real-world experience.

How Second Chance Cars works

As of a November 2023 profile in Bowdoin Magazine, recipients paid roughly $900 for a car valued between $5,000 and $6,000, with a zero-interest loan secured regardless of credit history, Holin said. The nonprofit works with social service agencies, including veterans' affairs offices and the U.S. courts, to identify candidates.

In 2024, Second Chance Cars awarded 44 vehicles — a 25 percent increase over 2023 — through its network of 10 vocational schools, according to the organization's annual impact report. The 21 vehicles restored through the GLTS co-op this summer represent a single site's contribution to that pipeline.

Second Chance Cars volunteer Sue Beck said the cars help recipients maintain employment and support their families, particularly those with children. "Greater Lawrence Technical School stepped up with space, teachers and made this partnership possible," Beck said at the July 25 ceremony.

GLTS serves four communities: Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, and North Andover. Whether the pilot becomes a recurring summer program has not been announced.