Students from the Carroll Shelby Automotive Program at Northeast Texas Community College attended the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada last week. In addition to attending one of the largest automotive trade shows in the world, students also had the opportunity to attend a special event at the Carroll Shelby Heritage Center at the invitation of Shelby American and the Carroll Shelby Foundation.
“For a college student to get this chance is unheard of. There are master mechanics who go their whole careers without attending SEMA,” Aiden Van Meter, said. “This is something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Those who attended include from NTCC include: Maxim Robert Terry, Kaeden James Self, Carlos Jair Mendoza Herrera, Lawrence Clyde Kirker, Aiden Van Meter, Bob Van Meter, Brandon Fuller, Ron Luellen (Director of the Shelby Program), and Dr. Jon McCullough (NTCC Executive Vice President for Advancement).
Highlights from the trip included seeing NTCC’s 1968 Shelby GT500KR (pictured below) on display at Shelby American and meeting racing legend Richard Petty. The opportunity was made possible thanks to generous donors, including the Carroll Shelby Foundation.
To learn more about NTCC’s Shelby Automotive Program, visit shelbyautotech.com. The program is currently accepting students for the spring 2025 semester.
About SEMA:
The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) serves as a leading voice for the worldwide car culture, representing over 7,000 member companies that create, buy, sell, and use specialty-automotive parts that make vehicles more unique, attractive, convenient, safer, fun, and even like new again. Business member benefits include product development resources, market research, networking, education, legislative advocacy, and more. The Association organizes the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nev., and actively supports the career and business opportunities that the aftermarket generates. The industry contributes nearly $337 billion in economic impact to the U.S. economy, supports 1.3 million jobs nationally, and generates $52.3 billion in parts sales annually.
