Breithaupt Career and Technical Center is one of Detroit’s most impressive technical schools. At Breithaupt, students do not just sit in a classroom—they roll up their sleeves and get hands-on experience in one of their outstanding, immersive learning programs, including Culinary, Cosmetology, Automotive, Welding, Mechatronics.
Students learn and thrive as they earn industry credentials that open doors to careers beyond high school. The school offers real-world experiences that prepares them for what awaits after graduation.
Opportunities that take them beyond the classroom are one of the benefits to the program, and one of those opportunities occurred this year Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix by Lear held on the streets of downtown Detroit May 30-June 1.
Students enrolled in the Automotive Collision Repair Program and the Automotive Services Technician had attended DGP’s annual Comerica Free Prix Day on Friday, May 30 and were taken on a behind-the-scenes tour of the inner workings of the pit crew life of Detroit Grand Prix drivers and technicians, as well as key support operations.
Tanisha Bronaugh, Breithaupt’s Work-Based Learning Coordinator, was excited about the engaging experience.
“The students had an amazing time at the Grand Prix,” said Bronaugh.
30-plus students toured the paddocks where cars crews prepped race cars for the weekend of race competition. “It was really cool to hear them say things like, ‘We have this machine at school.'” Ms. Bronaugh added that the real-world experience made them more confident about their career choice.
The field trip also included meeting and hearing from Detroit Grand Prix President Michael Montri and visiting the DGP DMC Medical Center, headed by Medical Director Dr. Trifun Dimitrijevski.
In the Automobile Collision Repair program, students learn to repair and restore automobile and truck bodies, weld broken frame parts, replace damaged or missing vehicle body parts, estimate the cost of repairs, and prepare and paint repaired vehicle body surfaces. While in the Automotive Services Technician program, there is an emphasis on professional service and diagnostic procedures, students will learn the operation of automotive systems and perform skill exercises relative to automotive services. The Automotive Services Technician Program develops technical skills necessary to maintain one’s personal automobile and seek professional mechanic certification.
The program enables students to earn ASE Industry Certification. They also work with the City of Detroit repairing first-responder vehicles that has a direct positive impact on their community.
But Free Prix Day was a different kind of experience. “Our students’ faces lit up like Christmas morning as they watched cars go by during the event. They also got to meet drivers and technicians who helped them shape realistic ideas about their career choices,” Ms. Bronaugh added. “It went over my head, but it was exciting to experience.”
On Comerica Bank Free Prix Day, fans watched all the Friday on-track action from two prime viewing locations – in Grandstands 1 and 9 – at no cost. Seating in these grandstands overlooked the unique two-sided pit lane and the finish line on the 1.7-mile Streets of Downtown Detroit circuit. Comerica Free Prix Day continues a cherished tradition that started with the inaugural Grand Prix event in 1982. Since then, every Detroit Grand Prix has offered fans free access on the first day of on-track action, embodying the welcoming spirit of Detroit.
“I’m very grateful for the relationship with Comerica Bank,” Ms. Bronaugh adds. “In my position at Breithaupt as a Work-Based Learning Coordinator, I set up events like this all day where we show them real-world experiences of what we teach them in class, and for our students, there’s nothing like the experience of ‘going backstage.”
In addition to visiting the Grand Prix, students had extended touchpoints with Comerica’s Financial Education Brigade back in April who provided financial literacy lessons.
Bronaugh noted, “Our students not only gained valuable knowledge, but they were also able to apply what they learned by depositing their internship paychecks into their bank accounts (for the very first time).
“It was a meaningful experience watching them fill out deposit slips and endorse the backs of their checks with confidence. These are small but significant steps toward lifelong financial independence.”
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