McPHerson College offers a car restoration program for students

McPherson, Kan. – Paige Milterberger always knew she would grow up to work in cars.

He has been restoring old cars with his father and grandmother since he was a child. But as a young woman in St. Louis, he wasn’t getting the training he needed to prepare for the Classics.

“My technical high school that I went to, it was all novelty and classic car stuff, Miltenberger said. “And it wasn’t the niche category of classic cars that I knew I wanted to work in.”

Enter McPherson College, the only college in the country to offer a bachelor’s degree in automotive restoration.

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“I knew I liked working on cars. I knew I liked working on old cars specifically. And there’s no other program like this.

And it seems that miltenberger made the right decision – he is one of the top students of the program, who has missed only one test question so far this semester in te 141 – redo.

Miltenberger is one of about 175 students who were automatically admitted to McPherson College, a 138-year-old liberal arts college located in North Wichita. The Auto program turns next year, a milestone for the school that contributes to the labor intensive industry.

According to Techerforce Founes, it is estimated that 85 581 new autoolers will be needed to meet the demand. That number will increase every year, reaching more than 350,000 by 2028.

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Working on classic cars is an additional niche, making McPherson College one of a kind.

“We look at the skills we teach as heritage skills. So they’re not things students learn in shop class, if there’s even a shop class in their school,” said Amanda Gutierrez, Phce President of Automotive Restoration and Engineering. “So, from woodworking to metalwork, all the handcrafting of chairs, things like that, all those skills disappeared.”

Students learn all aspects of restoration, from engine re-opening to painting panels, welding joints to sewing upholstery.

Andrew Dehn works with panel board and leather to make a door panel. (FOX Business Network / Fox News)

“One of my favorite things is that the students who come into the trim lab, have never touched a sewing machine in their life,” said Gutierrez.

Noah Durham was one of those students. He likes all aspects of restoring old cars, but the attention to detail in the upholstery and the emphasis on every stitch captivated him. It’s also a very sought-after field.

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“Almost all the shops, when they come looking for people or ask people to do upholstery,” said Durham, from Phezuli. “A lot of people don’t do that. And we do it a lot, especially in high-end cars like your Ferraris, Bentleys, Jaguars.”

Durham graduated in May, but already has a full-time job. He will be working as a trimmer in a restoration shop in Pennsylvania, taking care of European Classics, making more than $70,000 a year.

A Kennedy Batcheder removes threads from a lathe at McPherson College in McPerson, Kansas, on Oct. 15, 2025. (FOX Business Network / Fox News)

And he’s no exception – McPherson boasts a 95% job acceptance rate within six months of graduation. And these are not just jobs in restoration shops. McPherson Graduates are all international working across multiple disciplines.

“They work in shops, they have their own shops. They work for museums, private collections, auction houses as experts in history, they put all that,” said Gutierrez.

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And in the growing world of AI, auto restoration looks set to be largely replaced by computers.

“AI doesn’t make up for this,” said Curt Goodwin, a summer school professor. “I’m talking about this when we meet an engine, and you turn that engine by hand and you feel everything coming out, AI can’t restore that.”

Transfer of cole nichols back to McCherson Collery in McPherson in McPherson, Kansas, on Oct. 15, 2025. (FOX Business Network / Fox News)

It is true, AI cannot replace manual workers, but it is also difficult to find answers online because most of the books were not advice. If you need to know how to rebuild a European European engine, you will have to be a student and head to the McPherson library and read a fashion book.

“We’re working on an engine project or whatever. And they’ll ask me, ‘Well, what about torque or whatever?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know. Look at it.’ And so they take out their phone. I go, ‘No, no. Look it up in this book, look it up in the book,’ said Godwin. “These cars are one of a kind.”

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There are currently 23 used vehicles within the college currently in various stages of restoration, from the Ultra-austin-healey-100m-healey 100m S. FREE FUNNY POWER TRAINING BOARDS that travel the country at shows and trails.

McPherson College’s 1953 Mercedes-Benz 300 S Cabriolet at the Pebble Beach Concours d’elegance in Pebble Beach, California, on Aug. 20, 2022. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Looking ahead, the school of automotive studies hopes to double in size in the next ten years. Tutierrez says there will be more places to accommodate the expected growth, as well as adding new specialized programs in fields such as Digital Media and Engineering.

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And while the money may be good and the job security seems stable, for students at McPherson, it’s all about passion.

“You have to do it for the love of it. But it’s a legitimate way to make money, and you won’t be exposed, and that job will be safe for a long time, especially if you’re good at it,” Coodwin said. “I was always able to support my family.”