Among Nashville colleges and universities, it has the third largest incoming class, trailing only Vanderbilt and Tennessee State. With a new multi-million-dollar dormitory recently completed, it can now house over 700 students on campus. And while many colleges across the state, including the University of Tennessee, are experiencing drop-offs in enrollment, its student population grew a robust 18% in 2003. Still, a great number of Nashvillians probably don’t even know that it exists.

Located on a blighted stretch of Gallatin Road in East Nashville, 84-year-old Nashville Auto-Diesel College (NADC) is widely considered one of the top post-secondary schools of its kind in the eastern United States. Offering training and degrees in automotive, diesel and auto body repair, as well as coursework in high performance motorsports engines, the school attracts students from 50 states and 62 countries who come to Nashville to study in its one-year certification program. They come pursuing dreams as varied as becoming a chief mechanic, owning an auto detail shop in their hometown or joining a NASCAR pit crew.

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