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June 19-25, 2013
Cara Adams, a project engineer for Firestone Racing, explains how she uses engineering to develop safer race tires to a group of pre-college engineering students and robotics team members from Detroit International Academy at Comerica Free Prix Day.
Preparing today’s youth for tomorrow’s careers
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
stone Racing. Adams explained how she uses engineering to make race tires safe and durable.
– Nelson Mandela
“For these engineering students to have the opportunity to witness women succeed at such a high level is both eye-catching and motivating,” said McCann. “It’s our hope that this experience will show these young ladies that a career in engineering is absolutely possible as long as they continue to work hard in the classroom.”
The words of Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, are not only true but utterly inspiring. A good education is not only a doorway to something better but a challenge to blaze your own trail, a sentiment that drives Comerica Bank’s core values and commitment to the community.
Oreovicz’s tour continued on and the girls learned about the GrandAm Rolex series cars, where the crew “Educating the genmembers are constantly eration succeeding ours analyzing information renot only makes sense soceived during practice and cially as a way to ensure how that results in changthe continued growth and es being made to the car’s revitalization of our comgearbox. Students also munities, but it also makes learned about the drivsense from a business ers’ suits and how they standpoint,” said Patricia house cooling mechanisms McCann, national civic afto protect from the high fairs manager, Comerica temperatures felt while Bank. “Educating the next racing. Oreovicz went on generation of small busito discuss car lifts, and the nesses owners, engineers, importance of weight distriscientists and CEOs is the bution for these high tech key to sustaining a healthy Patricia McCann, national civic affairs manager at Comerica cars. economic environment Bank, discusses Comerica’s commitment to education during As the tour continued, here in Detroit.” an interview with Amy Andrews of WJBK-TV FOX2 at Comer- the young women met Comerica supports ed- ica Free Prix Day. Mary Mendez, owner of ucation initiatives across RPM Tours, who introMichigan that not only promote the importance of obtaining and duced them to other crew members on racing teams. She relates furthering one’s education, but also shed light on different career to the young women because she was inspired to work in racing paths that might be less obvious to local students. when she was in school. The tour also stopped by the garage of the With the school year coming to a close, let’s take a look back at weekend’s only female driver, Simona De Silvestro. some of the ways Comerica is helping make the future brighter for Investment Workshop at Old Redford students across metro Detroit: Academy
Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix
Throughout May, the city of Detroit was abuzz with Indy Car fever as the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix came to town. Comerica Bank signed on to sponsor Free Prix Day on opening Friday of Grand Prix weekend to allow race fans free admittance to the entire day’s festivities. To celebrate race weekend and explore the different career paths available to women on the Indy Car circuit, a group of students from the robotics team and the pre-college engineering program at the all-girls Detroit International Academy were invited for a behind the scenes look at the racing technology on Belle Isle. John Oreovicz, Indy Car writer for ESPN, guided the tour where the first stop was to meet Cara Adams, a project engineer for Fire-
Anna Chatten, a mechanic for the No. 4 National Guard car, takes a break to talk about her job as a mechanic working on the gearbox and transmission to students from Detroit International Academy.
Malik Ansley, 6, a first grader at Ronald Brown Academy in Detroit, happily demonstrates how students use TutorMate headsets and laptops during tutoring sessions.
It’s not always some grand event or flashy production that catches a student’s eye. Sometimes a simple introduction to a new subject or career is enough to inspire. So, when Dara Munson, cochair of the Services Youth Facet of The Renaissance (MI) Chapter of The Links Inc., reached out to Dennis Johnson, chief investment officer at Comerica, to host an investment workshop for a group of enterprising young women in the Girl Stars! program at Old Redford Academy in Detroit, he welcomed the opportunity. The Service Youth Facet, which Munson co-chairs with Rhonda Walker, news anchor at WDIV-TV, has partnered with the Girl First grader Kenneth Cain II, 6, can hardly wait for Stars! program to help better prepare these high schoolers with the tools and vision to achieve their goals and become successful, his teacher, Angela Alexander, to help log him in to
See EDUCATION page B-2
the TutorMate program from a classroom at Ronald Brown Academy in Detroit.
Detroit Goodfellows Names Illya Tolbert of Harms Elementary School Winner of Fourth Annual Goodfellow Teacher of the Year Contest! The Detroit Goodfellows announced the winner of the fourth annual Goodfellow Teacher of the Year contest — Mr. Illya Tolbert, an Art teacher at Harms Elementary School, in Detroit. Detroit Goodfellows board members surprised Tolbert at a school assembly with the news and presented him with a $200 gift card to buy classroom supplies. Additionally, he will be acknowledged at the Detroit Goodfellows Annual Tribute Breakfast this fall. The Goodfellows Board of Directors selected the winning teacher from nominations by Detroit Public School students in grades 3 through 8 who designated their favorite teachers by answering the question: “Why is your teacher so special?” in 50 words or less. There were the most entries
contest to show its sincere appreciation and gratitude to Detroit Public School administrators, teachers and support staff who, each year, work so diligently to identify students in need of its holiday gift packages. The 99-yearold charity’s mission is to ensure that there is “No Kiddie Without a Christmas.”
ever received this year with over 800 submissions. Tolbert received 18 nominations. This year two 10-year-old Harms Elementary students, third grader Yazmine Cirne and fifth grader Melody Rose Andino, have been acknowledged with winning entries. Yazmine Cirne’s entry says “My teacher is so special because he teaches art. Mr. Tolbert is so special because he smells like fresh almonds. He is creative which I like about him. He is very smart in art. I also appreciate Mr. Tolbert because he spends all his money to buy art supplies to make some clay masks and other projects. Another thing that makes Mr. Tolbert so special to me is that he is not mean to me when I mess up in class. That’s why Mr. Tolbert is so special to me!”
Melody Rose Andino’s entry says “My favorite teacher is Mr. Tolbert. He is very creative. His paintings are better than the Mona Lisa. His jokes are very funny. He also works very hard to make everyone smile. He also solves all your problems to make you happy.”
Tolbert has been with Detroit Public Schools at Harms Elementary for 14 years. The art teacher and his wife, who is also a teacher at Harms, are residents of Detroit. The Detroit Goodfellows sponsors the Goodfellow Teacher of the Year
Founded in 1914, the Detroit Goodfellows is the original and oldest Goodfellow organization and is not affiliated with any other Goodfellow group. It also sponsors an emergency dental program for children, awards scholarships through Wayne State University, provides free shoes to children in need and helps send hundreds of needy children to camp each summer. For more information about the Goodfellow Teacher of the Year contest or the Detroit Goodfellow organization, visit www.detroitgoodfellows. org.