Spring Hill Manufacturing partnered with a local nonprofit to educate middle school-aged girls about careers in the automotive industry
Employees from Spring Hill Manufacturing in Tennessee recently participated in a local all-girls STEM education event to give students a first-hand look into careers in automotive manufacturing. The event was hosted by the nonprofit Southern Automotive Women’s Forum (SAWF), who brought their All Girls Auto Know® program to Spring Hill Middle School for their twentieth event in the region.
All Girls Auto Know® is SAWF’s middle school outreach program. The program works with local businesses and schools to host one-day events with up to 300 middle school girls and their teachers/educators to explore the many career options in STEM and automotive – such as roles within manufacturing plants like Spring Hill.
"As a mother of two girls and a Spring Hill employee myself, partnering with GM and other automakers is an amazing opportunity to give these girls a glimpse into all the opportunities the automotive industry has to offer,” said Amber Hopper, plant planner at Spring Hill GPS and president of SAWF.
Approximately 250 girls attended the Spring Hill event, which was funded by a community grant from GM and included a first-hand look into careers within GM Manufacturing.
Students took part in a virtual plant tour of Factory ZERO – future home of the 2022 GMC HUMMER EV pickup and HUMMER EV SUV, Chevy Silverado all-electric pickup, and self-driving Cruise Origin – and attended a panel featuring GM employees from across the company discussing their career path in STEM-related work.
Plant directors from across GM’s U.S. manufacturing sites – including those from Spring Hill – as well as members of the Spring Hill Women in Manufacturing (WIM) ERG assisted the girls throughout the event and lead a hands-on activity where they built small model cars to race.
“We had a cross functional team from many different GM plants to help encourage these young ladies to take a step into manufacturing, and it was an honor to introduce this group of students to what the automotive industry is all about.” said Michael Youngs, Spring Hill GPS Plant Director. “I think our group made an impression on those young ladies, and hopefully some of them will turn out to be GM employees in the future.”
Pam Elliott, a skilled trades GMS coach at Spring Hill, also helped represent GM at the event and offered insight into opportunities for women at GM.
“This was such a rewarding experience – reaching out to young girls in their early and impressionable years with a hands-on stem event was not only educational, but also a great training opportunity and a truly fun time for all that attended,” said Elliott.