Cody Brullo – Automotive Co-Op

Hello!  My name is Cody Brullo, and I am a Senior at Garden Spot High School. I am currently enrolled in the Co-op program. The business where I am doing my Co-Op at is Mark Martin Motors, an Truck/SUV dealership in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. I chose to be a part of this program because I thought it would be a good opportunity to make some money while still in school. I also took the opportunity because I could get the chance to work alongside my Dad and learn about the car business from him.  I’ve always been around cars all my life, so this opportunity was a given! Once high school is over, I am planning on staying where I am and then working my way towards someday owning my own business. I am very grateful and blessed with the opportunity to be in a great program like Co-Op!

While at work I do various different tasks. I have my Salesman’s license so 3 days a week I work in sales and look over trade-ins and appraise vehicles with our sales manager, Freddie. While doing this I also check the vehicles that come in from our different clean-up shops and print out buyer’s guides and also put plate brackets in the back and a Mark Martin Motors license plate in the front bracket. Another task that I do is going to the Manheim Auto Auction and or different sales with my dad to look over vehicles that he may want to try and buy. This part of the business would have to be my favorite part because it’s really cool seeing all these different vehicles that you would never normally get the chance to see or look inside of. You also learn a lot when at the sales because you can learn how much the vehicles are worth, popular colors, trim levels, and everything about the vehicles. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I also help out with driving and picking up our vehicles from the different shops we take them to, whether that is for cleanup, warranty work, or to get new wheels and tires put on them, etc.

Even though I love working with cars and love what I’m doing, politics has always been a passion of mine! In saying that, I was blessed to be able to go up to our state capitol in Harrisburg for a job shadow with State Representative, Dave Zimmerman. While with Representative Zimmerman, I spent the morning in a health meeting, where he and other representatives discussed topics like the vaccine, vaccine mandates, and other various issues related to the health of Pennsylvanians. When this meeting was over, I got the chance to sit in with Representative Zimmerman and the higher-ups of John Deer, who flew in from Wisconsin to talk to him about different things related to agriculture since Representative Zimmerman is a part of the Agriculture committee also. I then took a tour around the capital and saw some amazing things inside the capital. In the afternoon, around 1:30, I was blessed with the opportunity to be a “pager” on the house floor which means I got to sit on the floor of the House and when a representative needed anything I would go and deliver it to them, it was pretty sweet!! The debates lasted a long time, and I was at the capital from 8 AM to 10:15 PM! This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I am very thankful I got a chance to be a part of it.

I am really happy I chose to be a part of the Co-Op program, being a part of this program has helped me see and do things that I most likely never would have been able to see or do if not for this program. This program has helped me learn the car business more than I had already known and helped me narrow down some of my career interests. I look forward to seeing what comes of this opportunity that I was given, but I know it will all work out for the best! If you ever get a chance, I would highly encourage future students to be a part of this program, you won’t regret it!