Lexington, SC 04/18/2024 - Michelin North America’s Lexington, South Carolina leadership recently announced its continued investment and support of the Lexington County School District One Educational Foundation via a $30,000 commitment. The generous gift will support computer science education in Lexington District One at the middle school and high school levels.
More specifically, Michelin’s donation will commit $10,000 for each of the next three school years to the Educational Foundation in order to provide financial support for the Lexington District One middle school and high school VEX robotics teams. Currently, there are nine such teams in the district that focus on and compete in VEX robotics at the local and state levels.
Lexington One Foundation Executive Director Julie Anderson Washburn shared, “We are so thankful to the outstanding leaders at Michelin North America for their generous investments in STEM experiences via our VEX robotics teams here in Lexington District One. Such amazing learning experiences teach our students valuable STEM skills like computer science, design, coding, and engineering, as well as soft skills such as communications, teamwork, and problem-solving. These marketable skills help to prepare our students for a future career in a variety of industries including manufacturing. Our wonderful corporate partners like Michelin make such amazing STEM learning possible through their investments in our foundation and ultimately in our Lexington District One students.”
Chris Goumas, Michelin North America, Inc., Lexington, SC Site Director, shared his thoughts about the donation, “Our leadership has chosen to generously support the Lexington One Educational Foundation and invest another $30,000 in the district's robotics teams because we have personally seen the impact. As we see more automation and robotics in our everyday lives, we must prepare by ensuring our students are ready and able to take us into the future. Michelin places great importance on its relationships with all stakeholders, notably strengthening ties with the communities where we live and work. With that in mind, we are very excited to continue our partnership with the Lexington District One Educational Foundation on this initiative.”
Since 2018, Michelin North America’s significant investments in robotics learning in Lexington District One has resulted in much success, too. For the last three years, multiple Lexington District One high school robotics teams have successfully competed in local and state competitions that resulted in these teams earning a spot in the VEX Worlds Competition that is held each May. In addition, Michelin Lexington has employed some of the district’s former robotics team members, thus enabling these former students to transfer their learned skills directly to the workforce.
The Lexington One Educational Foundation Board of Directors are grateful to have Michelin North America, Inc. as an outstanding corporate partner. It’s evident that the company’s leadership team values STEM teaching and invests in hands-on experiences like the VEX robotics teams in order to strengthen and enhance students’ career opportunities in the future.
