engine, which happened to be a Briggs &
Stratton overhead valve engine. Not only
did he get the opportunity to tear it apart,
study the internal components, and figure
out how each component helps the engine
to run smoothly, but he also got to rebuild
it and make sure it ran properly again.
Cameron Wyatt, the instructor of the
course, said he likes to teach his students
through hands-on experience so they can
see what he's talking about and provide an
opportunity to tinker with parts and fig-
ure out how something works.
Bunting was so excited with what he
learned in class that, with the encourage-
ment of Wyatt, he began taking all of the
online Briggs & Stratton Master Service
Technician (MST) certification tests.
"Nolan is a very determined kid who
takes responsibility for his learning, and
when he sets his mind to something, he
won't stop until he accomplishes it," said
Wyatt.
The result?
Bunting passed all of the coursework
and exams to become the only individ-
ual from his school district to have ever
achieved an MST certification — and only
one of four in the state of Alaska.
"I wanted to see how much I could
learn and how far I could get," said Bun-
ting. "The certification provides an op-
portunity for me to sell myself because
I can go to any service provider with an
MST certification."
The MST status is the highest level
that a technician can achieve with Briggs
& Stratton and is offered at technical col-
leges and online. It is earned by passing
five separate exams within a one-year pe-
riod of time with a score of 75 percent or
higher. Each exam has approximately 50
questions focused on Theory and General
Knowledge, Diagnostics, Failure Analysis
& Warranty, Repowering and Products.
What's even more impressive is once No-
lan passed his final MST exam, he chose to
keep going and complete the Authorized
FEATURE STORY
www.outdoorpowerequipment.com OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT OCTOBER 2015 19
Bunting passed all of the coursework and exams to
become the only individual from his school district to
have ever achieved an MST certification — and only
one of four in the state of Alaska.
