By Stephanie Carter
The Collegian

When Dan Carrion leaves Fresno State after a full day of teaching, he heads home to continue working.

Yet this work is different than grading papers and prepping class lessons. This work includes tools and metal. There are pieces missing and parts needing to be replaced. It’s grease-in-your-face and dirt-on-your clothes work. This work is rebuilding old cars — Carrion’s long-time hobby.

“Rebuilding cars has always been something I wanted to do from a young age,� said Carrion, a Fresno State drama professor since 1984.

When Carrion was 2, he ventured away from his mother at their home. When his parents found him, he was in the garage painting the hubcap and license plate of the 1979 Ford automobile his dad had just bought.

“That’s when I knew he was going to do something dealing with cars,� said Eddie Carrion, Dan’s father.

Eddie Carrion was a mechanic all his life. When he had weekend car jobs, he would take Dan with him and allow him to watch. At the age of 5, Dan and his father began working on their very first car together.

“It was a 1952 GMC pickup,� said Eddie Carrion. “I would let him sand and clean parts. He would really get into it.�

The pickup was not only the first car he helped build with his father but also the car he would later drive to high school.

In high school, Carrion began taking body shop classes along with his theatre art path. It was preparing him to be a mechanic just in case acting didn’t work out. At 15, Dan bought his first car — a 1940 Ford four-door sedan — for $180. The sedan came with no motor.

“That was the first car he bought and worked on his own,� Eddie Carrion said.

Carrion and his dad have always been really close, but even more because they were always working on projects together. Carrion tells a story where his dad took two weeks off from work so they could rebuild his 1942 Chevy Military Panel Truck. The time together was priceless.

“The best part of working with my dad is being with my dad,� Carrion said. “Whether we’re under the car trying to fix something or sitting on the bench having lunch. It’s just cool to hang with him.�

Anita Carrion, Dan̢۪s wife of 16 years, said she thinks his hobby is great and uses his strongest characteristics.

He is very orderly and makes sure things are done in a timely fashion, yet thorough at the same time. If something doesn̢۪t work, he̢۪ll start over, Anita Carrion said.

“He never gives up,� she said.

And the hobby that he shared with his dad is now something he shares with the oldest of his two sons, 15-year-old Daniel. Like his father, Daniel began working with his dad on cars at a young age.

“I love that they can share something like this together,� Anita Carrion said.

When Carrion isn̢۪t spending time on his cars, he can be found teaching Drama 62 at Fresno State. After receiving his bachelors in theatre arts from Fresno State in 1978, he first started working at the school as a student assistant. This eventually led to his own teaching position in the theater arts department.

Just like his passion for cars, Carrion̢۪s love for theater began at a young age. When he was a kid, he never wanted to go to sleep.
At night he would get color crayons and color in the night-light he had in his bedroom. He would do hand puppets and gaze at the different colors the night-light would project.

“It’s ironic that I was so into coloring my night-light,â€? Carrion said. “I grew up to be a lighting designer.â€?

Carrion enjoys that his students are always very eager to learn and that he can share his own experiences with them.

“Anytime you can share what you know with someone and see the light bulb go off that they understand,� he said, “that is the best feeling.�

Amanda Mandas, a 19-year-old mass communication and journalism major, said the real-life experiences Carrion shares with his students is what she likes best.

“I love hearing his own stories when he teaches,� she said. “He always keeps us laughing and entertained. He makes the class fun.�

Carrion’s wife said many of his past students who stay in contact with him after they graduate. One is now the stage manager for the show “Fantasia,� and many still send Christmas cards and letters, she said.

“His students get jazzed and continue on in theatre arts,� Anita Carrion said. “To have that kind of influence takes a real awesome teacher.�