Racing to the Wizard in Bristol

Posted on March 25th, 2009

Eric McClure

NASCAR driver Eric McClure graciously helped introduce the Virginia Education Wizard to high school students at Virginia High School in Bristol Tuesday.

“I wish I’d had this tool,” he told the students, recalling how he had been unenthusiastic about a college career and then unsure about which career fields to pursue. At his parents’ urging, he went on to complete a degree at Emory and Henry in 2000.

But there was never any doubt in his mind he wanted to race.

Today, he races a Nationwide NASCAR circuit, but has credentials in mass communications that he is also able to put to good use in the racing field. His wife is a VHCC graduate in one of the area’s hottest career fields – nursing. Pit crew member and show car driver Todd Blevins is also a VHCC grad.

Virginia High School students experiment with the Wizard

The students were introduced to the Wizard in the fifth of events held across the Commonwealth to increase awareness of the new career and college advising tool.

Here’s the Bristol Herald-Courier news coverage of the event:

On the race track, NASCAR driver Eric McClure makes split-second decisions at high speeds.
But when he was preparing to attend Emory & Henry College more than a decade ago, the Chilhowie, Va., native said his own indecision nearly put his studies and his degree a lap down.
On Tuesday, McClure was among those attending the unveiling of the Virginia Education Wizard at Virginia High School. The wizard is a new online education and career planning resource developed by Virginia’s Community Colleges.

Virginia High School hosted the vent, attended by career coaches from several of Virginia’s Community Colleges. Dwight Barker, who has been with the career coach program since the beginning and coincidentally was Eric McClure’s high school guidance counselor, says the Wizard will be a great tool when coaches and guidance counselors are helping students identify their goals and interests.

The Virginia Education Wizard is at http://www.VaWizard.org.