Hundreds of Metro Detroit high schoolers attend Detroit Auto Show for first time
(CBS DETROIT) — More than 150 Metro Detroit high school students received the opportunity to attend the Detroit Auto Show for the first time this week.
"[We] wanted to make sure they had access to just see the cars and get out here and see what all the show is all about," said Julius Curry, president of Curry Motorsports.
Curry Motorsports, a Michigan-based racing company, partnered with the National Motorsports Association to allow these high schoolers to attend the Detroit Auto Show.
"I think it's very exciting that we get to see all these different exotic cars," said Christian Cartlidge, a student at Ecorse High School.
"It's a lot of vehicles I've never seen before," added Ecorse student Michael Russ.
Russ rode all the attractions, including the EV track, Bronco Mountain and Camp Jeep.
Robert Williams, an automotive teacher at Ecorse High School, said he has been looking forward to bringing his students to the Detroit Auto Show all week.
"You have to understand that these kids don't get a lot of these opportunities, so when the opportunity was given to me to give these tickets, I tried to make sure we had a bus full of kids," Williams said.
Students from Ecorse, Ferndale, and Brighthall high schools were all part of the group that attended the auto show.
The goal was greater than checking out the cool cars; Williams said it was also to help these teens dream bigger.
Curry said he was excited for these teenagers to learn about all the great opportunities in the automotive industry.
"It's very important because when I was in high school, we only had football, basketball and track, and now we got motorsports. We can get them in motocross and Formula SAE in college and get them from high school to a pro, and that's our goal: to help them get exposure and make sure they have the right tools they need to get there," Curry said.
Curry Motorsports is looking to acquire land in Detroit to facilitate an automotive racing education center, similar to an existing center the company operates in Las Vegas.
