More than 500 high school students from
Ed White,
Mandarin,
Englewood and
Frank H. Peterson Academies of Technology had the opportunity to visit the Concours d'Elegance on Friday, March 12, held outside the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Amelia Island.
The Concours d'Elegance, which began in Amelia Island in 1995, is a classic and antique car show held in Florida, Michigan and California. An estimated 16,000 people visited this year's show.
During the event, students heard a panel discussion from some of the most famous automobile designers in the world: Ed Welburn, vice president of design for General Motors; Joe Dehner, director of design for Chrysler LLC; and Moray Callum, director of design for Ford Motor Company. Each speaker brought a brand new concept car from their design studios to capture the interest of the students.
According to Phil Little, Duval County Public Schools' coordinator of American history and the organizer of the students’ visit, the Concours d'Elegance provided students with a positive outlook of and motivation for their own future careers.
"The Concours program has evolved from a purely automotive historical perspective to one where students are inspired to greater personal accomplishments because of meeting highly successful people they never would have otherwise met,” said Little. “Hearing these individuals’ stories of starting from humble beginnings and attaining great success is an upward call to each student."
More pictures from the 2010 Concours d'Elegance are available on the
DCPS' flickr photostream.
For more information about the Concours, visit
www.ameliaconcours.org.
More 'Spotlight on Education' Articles
