(CBS-DETROIT) – Little Caesars Arena is home to the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons, but on Tuesday it hosted the Fueling the Future event, where 50 high school students from Metro Detroit got a crash course in careers in the world of professional sports.
The workshop will empower high school students by providing first-hand insight into various career options within the sports industry that go beyond the athlete profession.
“This means a lot to us,” said Natalie Brown, Senior Director of Corporate Partnership at Ally Financial. “This falls within our priorities of economic mobility and workforce development, especially where we offer students the opportunity to see all the great careers happening in sports and entertainment.”
Brown said she hopes to inspire high school students and let them know that there is more to sports than just competition, including long-lasting and fulfilling careers behind the scenes. She added that it is important to have financial literacy.
“What we hope to do today is provide them with a financial education session on money skills, such as how to think about money differently and how to apply money techniques in everyday life,” Brown said.
Aaron Johnson, brand and lifestyle manager for the Pistons, said he has been in the shoes of these students and wants them to leave Tuesday’s event with a sense of belonging and pride.
“I want them to know that they have to hang in there,” Johnson said. “For someone like him, who looks like him, to be able to be in these positions, to be in this suit, you know what I mean. Keep at it, and hard work will pay off.”
The event included a full day of hands-on sessions for students led by renowned professionals and executives, where they learned about financial literacy, marketing, communications, technology and continuing education.
