General Motors' “Discover Your Drive” Diversity Journalism Program Students at 2017 Detroit Auto Show

Learn More: 2017 NAIAS (Detroit Auto Show) Press Pass Coverage

By Maureen McDonald
Senior Editor
Michigan Bureau
The Auto Channel

Detroit January 10, 2017; A smart breed of journalism and communications students from universities and colleges around America came to Detroit this week courtesy of General Motors to learn auto reporting at the largest makeshift classroom available - the North American International Auto Show.

"I'm blown away by the excitement and energy these students have for their craft," says Leslie Gordon, senior manager, diversity communications at GM, in a stylish paisley dress and a smart phone full of assignments. Several students landed an interview with Mary Barra, CEO of GM, along with other executives. They plied content experts for ways to produce the videos that serve as backdrops for the cars displayed and others mingled a sampling of the 5,000 professional journalists from around the world attending the show and sought advice about careers.

Discover Your Drive is the second annual boot camp for student journalists coordinated by Gordon and assisted by Margarita Bauza, a bilingual member of GM's diversity communications team and former Detroit News reporter. GM selected and paid transportation and lodging costs for 13 college students from 11 schools and some of the 9 professional journalists who served as mentors.

”We hope students will walk away with a new perspective on the world of automotive journalism and all it touches, including engineering, fashion, business, design, music, technology and the environment," Gordon says. "There is so much to dig into and we hope this program encourages students to look into automotive journalism as a future career choice."

Students who win a place in this boot camp submit portfolios and bios for consideration by the GM diversity communications team. Mentors from Detroit and other universities help guide students in selecting topics and crafting stories for a variety of outlets. They also took out Chevy Bolts and went on a scavenger hunt using GM's OnStar technology to find city landmarks and post on social media.

"I hope to make a career out of editing and producing television and films. I had an opportunity to talk to producers about what goes into the video aspects of auto shows. Their work - and its scale - is amazing," says Nia Muhammad, a sophomore in TV/Film at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She found it intriguing that Chevrolet media introduced its hybrid SUV, the Equinox on the weekend of the equinox in September, which made the name and the date more exciting for those covering the story."

"This trip opened my eyes to how big the auto industry is in the world. I was never interested in cars, but this is the coolest thing," says Jose Arredondo, a junior at Texas A&M, San Antonio. He has written for the Big Stick, The Bugle Call and LaPresna newspapers and is currently an intern at Spectrum Sports News.

Among the mentors Michael Quintanilla stood out with silver shoes, ascot and a razor edged shock of silver hair. A retired journalist for the LA Times among papers around the country, he is on his second stint as a mentor to GM's journalism book camp.

"There's plenty of room in news organization for youthful journalists. Some of these students may be needed to fill gaps as freelancers who write about money, fashion, and auto criticism," Quintanilla says. "Plenty of glamorous beats are still out there. With auto reporting there is much more to learn about cutting edge technology. The hottest store today is the Apple store but auto technology is even more fascinating," Quintanilla says.

Students and mentors were fascinated by the rear--seat reminder technology GM installs on the Buick Lacross, Cadillac Escalade, Chevy Equinox and other vehicles. It monitors the vehicle's rear door and remembers if the driver opened and closed the rear door up to 10 minutes before starting the engine. Then, next time the vehicle is turned off it chimes five times and displays a message in the driver information center that reads "Rear Seat Reminder/Look in the Rear Seat." This would let the driver know there could be a kid - or a pet in the rear seat that needs attention.

Walter Middlebrook, an assistant managing editor at the Detroit News and mentor to the boot camp called it "a collection of stars." Here's a look at the participants. Bauza says she expects a new team to come next year with even more content for students to explore in the ever-changing auto world.

About the students:

       Nia Muhammad – a native of Chicago, Ill., she is a sophomore in TV / film and electronic studio at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

       Sarah Rahal – a native of Dearborn Heights, she is a journalism senior at Wayne State University (WSU) in Detroit, a member of the honors Journalism Institute for Media Diversity program and managing editor of The South End, WSU’s student paper.

       Rushawn Walters – a native of Springfield, MA., he is a journalism and theatre arts senior at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and managing editor for its student newspaper, The Hilltop.

       Dominique Sims – a San Francisco native, Dominique is a mass media arts senior at Clark Atlanta University in [city]. She is author of the award-winning blog “Black Students Who Travel.”

       Ala’a Ibrahim – a native of Houston, Ala’a is a multimedia journalism and business senior at University of Texas at Austin. She has interned at NBC Universal and KXAN-TV, and will soon be joining KUT & KUTX as a multimedia intern.

       Oriol Brull – a native of Barcelona, he is an advertising and public relations junior at The City College of New York in New York City. He has been a freelance automotive writer for a national Spanish magazine.

       Gabi Wy – a native of Newburgh, Ind., Gabi is a sophomore at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville. She will be an intern at the Evansville Courier & Press in January and features editor for The Shield, the University of Southern Indiana’s student publication.

       William Cornelius – a native of Oklahoma City, Okla., he is a broadcast journalism junior at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. He shoots and edits long form documentary, broadcast package, VOSOT (Voice Over/Sound on Tape) and writes for print and online publications.

       Aaron Robert – a native of Warren, Mich., he is an advertising and public relations sophomore at Grand Valley State University (GSVU). He leads content creation for GVSU’s Public Relations Student Society of America chapter, writing and editing blogs and designing graphics.

       Nguyen Le – A native of Vietnam, he is a recent graduate in print journalism at the University of Houston in Houston. He writes for the student newspaper The Cougar and is a movie critic for Cooglife Magazine.

       Jose Arredondo – A native of San Antonio, he is a junior at Texas A&M - San Antonio. He has written and photographed for the Big Stick, The Bugle Call, The Ranger andLa Prensa newspapers and is currently an intern at Spectrum Sports News.

       Dennis Lin – A native of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. He is a senior double majoring in Communications/Advertising with a sports management minor & sales concentration at Michigan State University. He plans a future career in digital media, automotive sales or the sports industry.

       Michael Incavo – a native of Cleveland, Michael is a journalism and public relations senior at Baylor University's Pulitzer-winning Journalism Public Relations and New Media (JPRNM) department in Waco. He has worked for local NPR stations and produced syndicated reporting features airing across Texas radio stations.

For More Information go to GM MEDIA