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This article has been produced in partnership between The 74 and the XQ Institute.
High school senior Lydia Nichols never expected to fall in love with auto racing.
It certainly wouldn’t have happened sitting in one of the classrooms at her traditional comprehensive high school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. But Nichols only spends half her day at that campus.
The rest of her learning happens half an hour away at Iowa BIG, a credit-bearing program for public school students in downtown Cedar Rapids where teens learn through community-based projects. This year, Nichols devised a plan to revitalize Hawkeye Downs Speedway, which has struggled to attract visitors. It’s “a huge part of…
