More than 160 K-12 students from Flint schools visited the University of Michigan-Flint on Tuesday to listen to a panel of four motorsport professionals about how science, technology, engineering and mathematics can drive careers in motorsports.
On Tuesday, Feb. 17, UM-Flint hosted the Motorsports Is More Than Entertainment panel in the Harding Mott University Center. This panel consisted of Lavar Scott, a NASCAR driver affiliated with Alpha Prime Racing. Julius Curry, a former professional football player and an alum from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, who now owns Curry Motorsports. Rodney Reid, the executive director of NXG Youth Motorsports, and Sage Thomas, also known as the “Donkmaster” and the founder of the National Donk Racing Association.
The panel showcased how vital STEM is to motorsports and how many job opportunities in motorsports tie to STEM without the terminology used in a lot of academic spaces. “I really wanted people in Flint, especially for the young kids, to understand there are a lot of hidden careers. I want them to do well in math and science… so they’re prepared for college or any type of post-high school training,” E. Shirl Donaldson, assistant professor of the College of Innovation and Technology at UM-Flint, said. Donaldson, the host and organizer of the panel, conducted research on education and motorsports in 2022 with Donk racing and was later introduced to indie racing.
Schools such as Holmes STEM Academy, Eagles Nest Academy and GearUp2Lead were some of the many schools that attended the panel. “They don’t know what’s out there, they don’t know the opportunities… so any opportunities on how to do it and how to get there we take it,” Winston Stoody, the executive director of GearUp2Lead said.
The panel was also open to the community. Kaden Stevenson, a 10-year-old boy who had his legs amputated three years ago due to the flu, was also in attendance. “He’s interested in racing, and I’m really hoping that Mr. Curry will build him an adaptive car so that he can race,” Michele Stevenson, Kaden’s mother, said.
“I want to show everybody what I exactly do with cars, how to make them fast, how to keep them together and how to make them safe. So to bring something that’s fast and flashy to them that is science math,” Thomas said. Donaldson does not want to stop here; she wants to do more events like this in the future.
Hello my name is Ramla Ouedraogo and I am the editor-in-chief of the Michigan Times.
