Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. awarded six student scholarships in a pre-race ceremony held at the Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier today. The scholarships were given out as part of the Goodyear Racing and Diversity Program.
Alex Stephens, a senior at Sonoraville High School in Calhoun, Ga., was presented the grand prize of $30,000 toward his continuing education. He was selected from more than 60 minority high school students who participated in the Goodyear program of at-track experiences and race weekend internships in six NASCAR race venues over the last year.
The five other students each will receive $2,000 scholarships: Adriana Harris, Dover, Del.; Ashli Moore, Dallas, Texas; Desiree Slaughter, Detroit, Mich.; Rodrigo Bernal, Daytona Beach, Fla.; and Stephanie Vasquez, Los Angeles, Calif.
The Goodyear Racing and Diversity Program provides minority high school students with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the many career paths offered through the sport of NASCAR. It gives the students a chance to experience NASCAR first-hand and receive a behind-the-scenes look at a NASCAR race.
The students who participated in these events had to maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA and be in good standing in their school and local community to become eligible for race-weekend internships.
Once selected, they were paired with several "mentors" in career areas of interest to them for two, six-hour days of work. Students who completed their race-weekend internships were then eligible to apply for the scholarships.