General Motors Student Corps Kicks Off 2014

Yesterday the General Motors Student Corps kicked off 2014 by adding a team of ten students from Southwestern Classical Academy in Flint to the summer internship program. The Student Corps program includes internships for 120 Detroit and Flint-area high school students. Each team will help the community by completing service projects that include restoration, landscaping, repair, and clean up.  The internship starts mid-June and concludes mid-August.

“Last year, the bright young people in the GM Student Corps learned valuable skills that will help them succeed as professionals and citizens, and many of them told us it was a life-changing experience,” said Mark Reuss, executive vice president of GM Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. “Expanding the program to Flint reflects our deep commitment to the city and its people. We look forward to seeing what these terrific students will accomplish.”

The teams will be assisted by retired GM mentors and GM interns from the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM). Mike DiGiovanni and Larry Hice will be leading the team of retired mentors and interns. DiGiovanni is an economics professor at the UDM and a previous GM executive. Hice is a retired GM executive.

The schools that have been chosen to participate in the internship this year are: Central Collegiate Academy, Detroit Public Schools Cody Campus, East Detroit High School, Hamtramck High School, Harper Woods High School, Henry Ford High School, Madison High School, Melvindale High School, Detroit Public Schools Osborn Campus, River Rouge High School and Van Dyke Lincoln High School. These schools were chosen based on citizenship, academic performance, leadership potential, determination, drive, and extra curricular activities.

Last year’s interns successfully refurbished eight parks, planted 425 trees, shrubs and flowers, disposed of 205 bags and 29 dumpsters full of plant overgrowth, laid 392 yards of mulch, used 223 gallons of paint, and distributed approximately 30,000 pounds of food to local hunger organizations.