By Tom Strongman, mentor
There’s something magical about reaching beyond oneself for a goal that lies outside the realm of everyday life.
A few months ago, MINDDRIVE students and mentors conjured up an improbable dream of taking an electric car on a coast-to-coast journey. Now, for two weeks, they are making that dream a reality.
One group of students and mentors traveled from San Diego to San Antonio, then they traded places with a second group that will travel the final leg to Jacksonville, Florida. I was with the first group.
Reaching for a dream creates an aura that others understand immediately, and that seemed most obvious when we stopped in small towns.
In Willcox, Arizona, the Sulphur Springs Valley Electrical Cooperative rolled out the metaphoric red carpet for the MINDDRIVE students and their car. Mayor Bob Irvin and City Manager Patrick McCourt led a delegation that listened attentively as students explained how the car was conceived and created. Their encouragement buoyed our spirits even more than the tasty barbecue lunch.
Two days later, we pulled into the town square in Ozona, Texas, at 7:30 in the evening. As we parked in front of the beautiful Crockett County Courthouse, townspeople swarmed the car. Their enthusiasm was palpable. Youngsters climbed in and out of the driver’s seat, and one middle-aged lady giggled as she asked if she could go along on the rest of the trip.
We arrived in Junction, Texas, on Saturday, June 15, trailing the lights and siren of a police escort all the way through town on main street. The townspeople embraced the students and their project with incredible warmth. The bond between students and the folks in Junction was immediate. As the car sat alongside the Pedernales River, generators humming as they pumped a new load of electricity into the batteries, the first group of students and mentors headed for the airport in San Antonio, smiles wide and hearts full. It had been a remarkable week.
When you reach for a dream, everyone cheers.