Three standout students experienced an electrifying day this month after being recognized as part of General Motors’ Student Spotlight program. The group of students from Cody High School in Detroit received an invitation to GM’s Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, and witnessed the all-electric supertruck, the GMC HUMMER EV Pickup1, in action. The day was jam-packed with events, learnings and even some CrabWalking.
Launched in late 2021, GM’s Student Spotlight program works with local high schools to provide a small group of students each quarter with a unique experience to increase awareness around STEM opportunities and careers within the automotive industry. This quarter, Cody High School recognized Ayja, Zierre and Arnold for their dedication and achievements in and out of the classroom. The three students enjoyed a half day experiencing the HUMMER EV before touring the Estes Battery Systems Lab and heading to the GM Heritage Center.
Here’s a little more information on this quarter’s star students:
- Ayja, a senior at Cody High, plans to study graphic design or nursing after her upcoming graduation. Cody High recognized her for her outstanding spirit and focus on continued achievement in and out of school.
- A junior at Cody High, the school recognized Zierre for his outstanding behavior and artistic ability. He has many interests, including art, design and music, and is considering pursuing a career in a creative field after high school.
- Arnold, a junior at Cody, is a role model for his Cody High classmates, serving as president of the student body council. He’s currently interested in exploring software engineering after graduating from Cody.
From Watts to Freedom2 to CrabWalk3
Ayja, Arnold and Zierre traveled from Cody High School to the Tech Center in style with a ride in Program Engineering Manager Courtney Lindwurm’s HUMMER EV Edition 1 vehicle. Courtney talked to the students about the role she played in bringing the electric truck to market and highlighted the vehicle’s interior features and new technology as they traveled to the Global Technical Center campus.
After arriving onsite, they made their way to a short track for feature demonstrations with the HUMMER EV. Courtney launched the vehicle into Watts to Freedom mode multiple times for the students. Watts to Freedom channels the HUMMER EV propulsion system’s tremendous power into acceleration bursts — and can reach 0-60 mph in approximately 3 seconds. This feature became an instant favorite.
“I loved riding in the HUMMER, it was so different,” Ayja said. “I’d never been in an electric car before. When Courtney did Watts to Freedom, that was awesome. It was like a ride at a theme park.”
The students were also able to experience CrabWalk, an available feature that uses HUMMER EV’s 4 Wheel Steer to drive diagonally at low speeds and help it traverse complex trails.
“I expected it to drive like a truck, but it drove like a sports car,” Arnold said of his experience with HUMMER EV. “And I had never heard of CrabWalk before, but that was really cool.”
Learning About GM’s Past, Looking Ahead to Our All-Electric Future
The students then made their way to the Estes Battery Systems Lab, the largest battery validation lab in North America. The Estes Lab enables GM to perform major battery development, durability and validation tests in-house at the cell, module and pack levels.
On a guided tour with Eric Boor, senior leader of battery lab operations at GM, the students learned about how GM tests its Ultium Platform for extreme weather — both hot and cold — to ensure our electric vehicles can perform to the best of their ability. Eric also explained why the Ultium Platform was designed using stacked long pouch cells to meet the needs for various types of GM vehicles.
“I’d never seen anything like that before, just older car batteries, so it was cool to learn about how the batteries are made and tested,” shared Ayja.
The students concluded their day at the General Motors Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan. With more than 165 vehicles on display from GM’s Heritage Collection, each of the vehicles in the collection illustrates a design, technical, or sales milestone or accomplishment in GM or automotive history.
The students were excited to see the extensive Corvette collection as well as some of the prototype vehicles on display. Rumor has it former professional basketball player Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal even asked if he could purchase one of the vehicles on display.
“I thought it was cool to see all the cars at the Heritage Center,” Zierre said. “The 1955 Buick Century was definitely my favorite.”
Bright Futures Ahead
The automotive industry offers a vast number of career paths focused in STEM and beyond, and GM knows it’s so important to provide future talent with exposure to these opportunities as they explore their potential career interests.
“We were thrilled to show these students some of the opportunities that we have at GM, whether in electric vehicles or in other areas of STEM,” said Cheryl McCarron, director of community relations at GM. “These students are the future, and it was our pleasure to host them.”
The Student Spotlight program is just one way GM works to excite tomorrow’s workforce and helps them explore possibilities. The company looks forward to next quarter’s star students as it prepares more behind-the-scenes glimpses at what goes into winning in the auto industry and beyond.
1 Edition 1 Pickup limited availability by waitlist. Additional GMC HUMMER EV models available Fall 2022.
2 Read the vehicle’s owner’s manual for more important safety limitations and information.
3 Limited to low speeds. Read the vehicle’s owner’s manual for more important safety limitations and information.
- Does not detect people or items. Always check rear seat before exiting.
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