Kyle Wurtzel, a partner at Heartwood Planning Group and a private wealth financial advisor, visited Washington STEM Academy to not only share career readiness with students, but also to lead a STEM activity around motion with third-grade students.
Wurtzel is also a professional top fuel drag racer, so he spent time with students sharing more about his car, his career as a financial advisor and what jobs are available to those who want to take racing beyond just a hobby sport, according to a news release from Heartwood Planning Group.
“The kids love learning from people they don’t get to interact with every day, especially in careers they could do someday,” explained third-grade teacher Christi Overman. “It’s critical to our schools that community members help mentor our kids by teaching them.”
Following his talk, Wurtzel, with his wife, Dr. Julia Porter; Washington STEM instructional coach Derek Pike and lab assistant Emma Coleman led a hands-on activity where students worked with matchbox cars to improve their own personal “racing times” utilizing skills like forming a hypothesis and problem-solving.
Wurtzel, who has a daughter at Washington STEM Academy, valued the opportunity to not only give back to other students, but to share more about his career and his race car with students, the release states.
“It was important for me to do this to promote the hobby that I’m passionate about to a younger generation,” Wurtzel said. “Additionally, it was exciting to share more about my job at Heartwood and let students know what careers are possible. Our partners came up with the name, Heartwood, because it is the pillar of the tree, so we aim to be pillars in our community as well.”
For more information about Heartwood Planning Group, visit https://heartwood.nm.com/