An Arapahoe student is celebrating a life-changing opportunity after being selected as the winner of the Raceway Lube Christmas Giveaway, now in its 6th year.
Adrianna did not have to complete an application to receive the award. She only had to agree to be nominated. After being selected, she went to Raceway Lube to sign paperwork and receive the keys to her very own car.
The giveaway is made possible by Raceway Lube Plus, an auto repair and service center located in Littleton, CO. Since 1995, their team of auto repair professionals has been providing Littleton with superior repair services for all types of car troubles. They value providing Colorado residents with complete repair services that they can rely on and trust.
Barb D’Innocenzo, a teacher at Arapahoe, shared why she felt compelled to nominate Adrianna:
“I was inspired to nominate Adrianna because she was always such a hard worker and was never satisfied with doing the bare minimum. Adrianna has been a 'star' student and had even been recognized by the district for her work on mental health initiatives. I knew that not having a car was an impediment to her taking college classes because public transportation took away a lot of her time. I know that Adrianna has so much potential and felt that it was important to try to do something that would make her life easier and open up more opportunities for what I think will be an amazing future. I wanted nothing more than to help her to achieve her dreams.”
Barb shared how she learned about the opportunity:
“I heard about this award through the Nextdoor app. I also knew about it because I have been taking my car to Raceway for probably the last 20 years.”
For Adrianna, having reliable transportation will make a significant impact on her daily life and future opportunities.
“Having my own car creates more time in my schedule because I work full time and currently get around by public transportation and that takes a lot of time. Having more time leads to me being less stressed about getting to places on time. It also boosts the amount of opportunities that I have now that I have a reliable means of transportation. I feel like I will have more independence by being able to help myself.”
Both Adrianna and Barb reflected on what this moment says about the Arapahoe community.
“I feel that the motto, 'Warriors Always Take Care of One Another' is not just an empty saying. I truly believe that there is a feeling among the students and staff that we are a family and do whatever we are capable of to help one another, whether it is attaining an academic goal or just feeling cared for.”
Adrianna added:
“Arapahoe brought me many new opportunities and made me feel a sense of belonging. They helped me be more motivated in general with my studies and with the amount of support I was given. The feeling of community within the school walls was shocking to me because I had felt it difficult to belong anywhere. And my support system here just was amazing, the amount of support I was given made me more motivated to become the better version of myself.”
This story is a powerful example of how the Arapahoe community and local partners continue to live out a commitment to supporting one another.
