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Support
of
Community
and
Youth
Today
Ensures
the
Future
of the
Auto
Industry
Story by
Marc
Bland/Head
of
Diversity
&
Inclusion-R.L.
Polk
 SOUTHFIELD,
MI - On
Friday,
March 9,
I had
the
pleasure
of
joining
executives
from
across
Michigan
and a
few from
as far
as Ohio
at the
quarterly
Cornerstone
Schools
partner
morning
event in
Detroit.
Cornerstone
Schools
is a
model
"higher
learning
incubator"
in the
city of
Detroit
where
over 500
well-dressed
young
ladies
and men
in
Pre-Kindergarten
through
10th
grade
learn
the
skills
they
need to
become
successful,
contributing
adults
and
possibly
the next
automotive
engineer,
designer,
purchasing
executive,
entrepreneur,
doctor,
lawyer
or a
number
of other
rewarding
careers.
From the
moment I
walked
into the
building
located
on
Nevada
street
on
Detroit's
east
side, I
was
impressed
by all
of the
positive
energy
from
administrators,
teachers,
staff,
young
students
(elementary
age),
older
students
(high
school
age) and
my
fellow
sponsors
/
supporters
from
various
industries
including
automotive.
Part of
the day
included
being
paired
up with
a
student,
joining
them in
class
and
attending
the
school's
science
fair. I
was
blessed
to be
paired
up with
a sixth
grader
named,
George
whom I
could
easily
see
growing
up to
become
the next
electric
vehicle
leader
for an
OEM or
the head
of a
battery
producer
like the
A123
company
that
creates
batteries
for the
Chevrolet
Volt.
L to R:
George,
Danaejha,
Erika
Koski
(Polk)
and Nia
George's
science
project
assessed
four
different
"C"
batteries
from
different
brands
with
varying
price
points.
George's
hypothesis
was the
more
expensive
Duracell
brand
would
last
longer
than its
competitors.
George's
second
place
project
did not
support
his
hypothesis
as he
found
the less
expensive
CVS
brand to
last
twice as
long as
Duracell
for half
the
price.
With the
increased
investment
in
electric
vehicle
technology,
if
George
and his
peers
continue
to stay
passionate
about
the
subject
of
science,
batteries
and
electricity
with a
focus on
best
value
for
least
cost, I
could
see him
being a
highly
recruited
engineer
by the
auto
industry
upon his
college
graduation
in 10
years.
Ed Peper,
Jr., who
serves
as an
executive
with
General
Motors
was also
in
attendance
and had
a
similar
experience
with his
young
mentee,
Bunia.
Bunia's
project
compared
the
cleaning
power of
two
popular
toothpaste
brands
Colgate
and
Crest.
As a
result
of
Bunia's
project,
Ed and I
found
out that
Crest
actually
performs
better
than
Colgate.
Polk,
who
proudly
supports
Detroit
Loyola
H.S.,
invited
fifteen
young
men from
Loyola
to join
their
top
Executives
at the
star
studded
event.
As I've
stated
many
times
before,
I'm glad
to work
for an
organization
like
Polk
that
supports
the
local
community
within
which we
work and
reside
and our
support
of
Cornerstone
via
scholarships,
mentoring
time and
as an
Intern
Sponsor
for
Cornerstone's
new
Leadership
&
Business
High
School
is just
another
example
of this
support.
I'm also
proud to
see one
or more
of our
automotive
partners
taking
the same
approach.
The
young
people
in
Detroit
and
across
the
country
will be
necessary
to lead
all
current
and
future
industries
including
automotive.
My hope
is for
the
media to
focus on
all of
the
positive
things
happening
like
Cornerstone
that are
going on
in and
around
major
cities
like
Detroit.
The
proposed
media
coverage
would
encourage
more
support
for
positive
stories
and
create a
brighter
outlook
for the
future
of
automotive
and
other
industries.
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