Automotive Design — Anna Bechtel

You Make A Difference is GM Design’s weeknight automotive design program for local middle and high school students. As industry professionals, we mentor students through a 12-week automotive design intensive course. From sketching to rendering to clay modeling, we assist each student in bringing their vision to life in a 3D clay model. I have volunteered for several years and am always amazed at what I can help create.

The Margret Dunning foundation invites a select few high school students to CCS each summer to compete for a 4-year, full-ride scholarship in transportation design at the college (Approx. Total Value $180,000). Through General Motors, I volunteered for 12 days to assist each student in creating a 3D clay model of their 2D sketch design.

We began from the basics of making an armature and packing clay, to roughing in designs, and finally refining surfaces and adding glass details. Each student received a professional studio critique by industry and university leaders.