Mandy Chick isn’t your typical college student-athlete. A junior mechanical engineering major at Rose-Hulman, Chick is taking the next step into reaching the NASCAR national touring series while studying full-time at the nation’s No. 1 undergraduate engineering college.

In 2022, Chick moved up to the ARCA Menards Series, running in a pair of races in the stock car league that is among NASCAR’s top four. Her next race is the series’ 200-mile race Saturday, February 18, at Daytona International Speedway. It serves as one of the lead-in races that weekend to the famed Daytona 500. The race will be televised on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 1:30 p.m. EST.

“I have always wanted to pursue a career in NASCAR, and for me this is just another step closer to that,” said Chick, a third-generation racer from De Soto, Kansas, who has been racing since she was 6 years old. “Knowing that several of the top NASCAR drivers come down to our series to race with us frequently, that's huge for me and my career and my learning curve. I've really enjoyed that opportunity to connect with them, get to learn from them, and race with them side by side."

One thing she will have in common with other student-athletes in her next competition is donning a uniform that represents her college. Chick and Rose-Hulman formed a recent partnership, with the school being a sponsor of her No. 74 Chevrolet at Daytona and an April 22 race at Talladega Superspeedway. The partnership is one-of-a-kind, with NASCAR officials confirming Chick is the only known active racer on the circuit who is both a full-time student and sponsored by the university they attend.

“When people think about school sports, they think about the athletic jerseys and teams traveling together to football games, basketball games, and soccer games,” Chick said. “But they don't really think about racing and at a level like this, like the ARCA Menards series. It’s unique for sure. I'm thankful for this opportunity. I'm seeing my professional engineering career opportunities collide with the racing that I've done since I was little. Being able to bring that to the racing industry, knowing that Rose-Hulman has a deep history in racing, that's huge for me.”

A top science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) college, Rose-Hulman offers several pathways into the racing industry, with notable alumni like Team Penske President Tim Cindric among a number of student interns and graduates working on teams in everything from Formula One to the IndyCar Series.

“The Rose Hulman community is unique in that they have always supported me and my racing and rallied around me since day one,” said Chick, who is pursuing minors in economics and entrepreneurial studies, as well as a master’s degree in engineering management. “The first week of my freshman year I had a big race that I went out of town for that weekend. I returned Monday morning and everyone I passed on campus asked me how the race went and said they were watching and had watch parties in my residence hall. You just don't get that anywhere else.”

Chick added that she wants to leverage the partnership with Rose-Hulman to increase awareness in STEM fields among women. For several years, she’s gone on a speaking tour to inspire middle and high school students to pursue their goals.

“If you look at my career and my education, I've been in male dominated fields since I was very little,” Chick said. “It puts me in a unique position to inspire other women to pursue those careers. I think it's very important for me to use the partnership with Rose-Hulman to leverage that and show young women that they can succeed in STEM and in racing.”