JACKSON, Mich — Former Lions defensive back Julius Curry and his company, Curry Motorsports, are using the excitement of motorsports to motivate young people to learn STEAM skills.
Curry says the program is currently reaching hundreds of students in the Detroit area.Curry was in Brooklyn Monday for a meeting with Doug Blume, Executive Director of Rise Above — a Jackson-area organization that works with at-risk youth.Curry and Blume agreed to cooperate in bringing the program to Jackson County.
At Michigan International Speedway, the stands are quiet now.
But I’m here with former Lions defensive back Julius Curry, who hung up his jersey about 20 years ago to get into motor sports. He says he’s hoping the excitement of motor sports gets young people motivated to learn STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) skills.
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Teaching career skills via motorsports in Jackson
I came down to Brooklyn to sit in on a coffee meeting between Curry and Doug Blume, who heads a Jackson-based organization that works with at-risk youth called Rise Above.
Curry says his program teaches important life and career skills.
“We’re teaching them everything from A to Z in motor sports,” says Curry, “whether you’re trying to be a race car driver, an engineer, marketing, advertising, or you want to work at the track.”
And Curry says he’s here in Jackson County looking for an organization to partner with.
“Because of the location of Michigan International Speedway, Jackson Speedway, and some of the other local tracks that you guys have in the area, it’s the perfect area to expand in outside of Detroit.”
Blume’s reaction?
“Pretty remarkable,” he says. “What he’s already doing in the world and he’s bringing it to Jackson County possibly is pretty exciting.”
“This past year we helped about 300 kids get into our summer programs where they learn anything from pit crew, marketing, media, and even videography,” says Curry of the program his company, Curry Motorsports, runs in Detroit.
“We also took our students to the racetrack to teach them about. How to run a race, the operations, the different jobs at the racetrack.”
It didn’t seem to take long for Curry and Blume to find common ground.
“Yeah, we’re excited to partner with him and move forward. I think it gives our students an opportunity to bring their lives forward in ways that we’re pretty excited about,” says Blume.
POSTSCRIPT: I asked Julius how he rates the Lion’s chances this season.
His reply: “I think right now we may be struggling a little bit, but guess what? I think by the time we get to the playoffs, I think we’ll have what it takes to get to the next level, and hopefully get to the Super Bowl.”
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