Evonik Donates $500 To Hopewell High School Racing Competition

Evonik Goldschmidt Corporation has donated $500 to Hopewell High School engineering technology students, enabling them to attend the NASCAR/FastTrack Competition Finals at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Hopewell Tech Devils team is the first in the Greater Richmond and Tri-Cities area invited to participate in the remote-controlled racecar competition. The students were challenged to raise transportation funds in a week or not be able to attend. Evonik was pleased to step in to make the trip a reality.

“It was an honor to present these bright young minds with this much needed gift,” said Phillip Munson, site manager, Evonik Goldschmidt. “Evonik is committed to supporting worthy educational pursuits and we are pleased our donation gave them the final push to meet their need.”

The racing challenge is part of an educational program used to teach students about science, engineering, technology and math in an innovative and fun way. “The students were given assignments based on all aspects of race engineering,” explained Andrei Dacko, engineering teacher at Hopewell High School, who was the team’s advisor and coach for the competition. “Meeting those educational objectives earned them an invitation to the finals.”

Munson and Peter Biles, manager engineering and maintenance at Evonik Goldschmidt, presented the check to the group. “It was a privilege to meet the students and present them with the donation,” said Biles. “We had the opportunity to speak with them about what it takes to be successful in engineering and business.”

With Evonik’s gift, the Hopewell Tech Devils headed to the competition where they gained two First Place trophies: Best Overall Team Presentation and Best Aerodynamic Vehicle. “This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and incredible learning experience that allowed our students to observe a side of race engineering that others rarely see,” said Dacko. “We can not thank Evonik enough for making this experience a reality for us.”

Evonik’s Hopewell facility is one of the area’s largest employers and produces specialty chemicals for use in hair and skin care products, laundry detergents, fabric softeners and other products.

For additional information about Evonik in North America, please visit our website: www.evonik.com/north-america.