Next Wave of NASCAR Talent Joins NASCAR Diversity Internship Program

By:
On:
In: Racing News

Established nearly 15 years ago to expose multicultural college students to employment opportunities in one of the largest professional sports industries, the NASCAR Diversity Internship Program welcomed the next wave of students seeking to learn about the industry during the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race weekend.

Throughout the 10-week, paid internship, 14 students will contribute to the multi-faceted motorsports workforce by learning from leading NASCAR executives in weekly lunch and learns and networking with professionals across the industry, starting with orientation. For many, attending the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, Sprint Showdown and NASCAR Sprint All-Star race live from Charlotte Motor Speedway this past weekend, was their first live racing experience.

“We’re thrilled to have top college students from across the country join us to learn more about our sport,” said Paula Miller, NASCAR vice president and chief human resources officer. “NASCAR is deeply committed to diversity and inclusion in our workforce and the NASCAR Diversity Internship Program enables us to identify strong talent early. Through the years we’ve hired many of the program’s participants, and seen many others go on to excel elsewhere in sports and business.”

The NASCAR Diversity Internship Program has created opportunities for students to take on substantive projects in the industry to prepare them for long-term success. At the conclusion of last year’s program, five interns were offered fulltime employment opportunities across NASCAR and the International Speedway Corporation (ISC), including:

§  Antoinette Diaz, a graduate of the University of West Georgia, joined ISC’s Sales and Marketing department;

§  Jusan Hamilton, an All-American track and field athlete from Ithaca College, joined NASCAR’s Integrated Marketing Communications department;

§  Robert Harbour, a graduate of Florida State University, joined Octagon;

§  Lauren Houston, a University of North Carolina Chapel Hill graduate, joined NASCAR’s Diversity Affairs department; and

§  Cameron McCarty, a graduate of North Carolina State University, joined NASCAR’s Media Operations.

Students were treated to an exclusive look at safety and technology innovations with guided tours of the NASCAR Research & Development Center during orientation. They also visited NASCAR Productions, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Hendrick Motorsports and the Sam Bass Gallery to conclude their overall introduction before diving into day-to-day work with their respective departments.

In addition to the NASCAR and International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) offices in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C., Rev Racing, the development arm of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program, also welcomes an intern to their team. 

The 2014 NASCAR Diversity Internship class includes the following students from colleges and universities around the nation:

Interns

Internship Assignments

College or University

Hometowns

Aaron Hinton

NASCAR Information Technology

University of Missouri at St. Louis

Saint Louis, MO

 

Chloe Kerr

NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications

Georgetown University

Bolingbrook, IL

 

Cyrus Ghadimi

NASCAR Licensing

University of South Florida

Holly Hill, FL

Gabriela Nazario

NASCAR Human Resources

University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez

Cidra, PR

 

Gregory Carty

NASCAR Industry Services

Winston-Salem State University

Durham, NC

 

Hakeem Onafowokan Jr.

NASCAR Public Affairs

The University of Minnesota Law School

Minneapolis, MN

 

Jessica Sisk

NASCAR Weekly and Touring

University of Alabama in Huntsville 

Estillfork, AL

Karmen Robinson

Rev Racing

North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University

Richmond, VA

 

Laura Fuentes Burgos

NASCAR Digital Media-Mobile

University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez

Bayamón, Puerto Rico

Lucia Ha

NASCAR Product Engineering

Syracuse University

Artesia, CA

 

Miguel Ortiz Burgos

The NASCAR Foundation

Stetson University

Humacao, Puerto Rico

 

Pedro Mojica

International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)

University of Texas at San Antonio

Killeen, TX

 

Yan (Stella) Zhuang

NASCAR Market and Media Research

Columbia University

Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, China

Wesley Robinson 

NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications

Benedict College

Estill, SC

NASCAR PR

Speedway Digest Staff
Follow Me
Latest posts by Speedway Digest Staff (see all)
Post Views: 54