Paving the Road to Automotive Career Discovery
On a chilly February morning in Chicago, hundreds of teens from across the region flocked to the Chicago Auto Show for the 2024 Teen Innovation Summit—a day-long showcase designed to introduce young people to the wide range of career possibilities waiting for them in the automotive industry.
The Teen Innovation Summit is committed to inspiring, educating and empowering high school students to help them access transformative career opportunities in technology, creativity and business.
In the automotive industry, the variety of jobs available means that there’s a career pathway for just about everyone. The Summit aimed to impart this fact to the youth in attendance, but some hardly needed convincing.
"I love cars. I love Toyota. I love race cars. I love everything about cars," high school student Jahkil Jackson said.
"We're going to be the future leaders of tomorrow, so it's important that we start now."
— Jahkil Jackson, high school student
As part of the Summit, Jackson helped lead a panel discussion on youth and the future of the automotive industry. Students also enjoyed a live DJ performance and a field trip to see the various automotive exhibits on the show floor.
Teen Innovation Summit founder Alissa Constable spoke to the breadth of career options within the industry.
"There's so much…from automotive designers [to] business managers, marketing…corporate social responsibility…working with community members. There's the inside of the dealership, where young people can…get a job very quickly," Constable said.
The Teen Innovation Summit was sponsored by Toyota and Toyota Lexus Minority Owners Dealership Association (TLMODA), an organization formed in 2001 to support Toyota and Lexus's minority dealers in driving excellence.
Toyota and TLMODA are proud to support programs like the Teen Innovation Summit that create powerful experiences helping young people envision limitless possibilities in the automotive industry.