An old General Electric 8 track player from the mid 1970s had a belt that had gone bad. Senior Patrick Curran saw this track player as an opportunity to fix it and restore it to working condition.

Ever since Curran was 8 years old, he was fascinated by restoration shows and online videos. Curran said he always had an interest in older objects, such as electronics, film projectors, turntables and jukeboxes from the 1980s and before.

“[I was inspired] by my grandfather,” Curran said. “He was a retired Vietnam veteran who never quit working. He would always find projects to work on. [He] often stopped by yard sales, thrift stores and antique stores to find projects to work on.”

Curran’s first actual attempt happened in 2012, where he repaired an old General Electric 8 track player. Since then, Curran said he has evolved into working on much larger projects such as a 16mm projectors, turntables, TV sets and is currently working on a large Seeburg Jukebox.  

“I have made a lasting impact with my interests,” Curran said. “Some of my teachers and the APs always refer to me when a device of theirs is having a bad issue, or [when] they have a question about an older device. I mean, it’s not everyday that you come across an 18-year-old who is exceptionally skilled with these things.”

While Curran is not sure how he plans to involve this into his future, he has some ideas.

“I have found that a lot of the skills I already have with restoring these mechanically complex devices can easily translate into skills I may need for a variety of different jobs,” Curran said. “Namely being automotive servicing, electronic work, and maybe even mechanical engineering. Overall, I do see a variety of different opportunities here, but only research and time will tell me which option is the absolute best for me.”