STEM use starts early for Enzo

When Enzo Codutti, a first grade student at Sanfordville Elementary School, visited family in Missouri over the winter break, he used the STEM knowledge he has picked up this year to help his uncle with a pretty impressive project – designing a car for Hot Wheels. Yes, that Hot Wheels!

“I already did so many big projects in STEM class, and I finally found the biggest project of all,” Enzo said with excitement. “Making a Hot Wheels car! I tried, and I did it.”

Enzo’s teacher Ms. Christie Esserman was duly impressed, although not at all surprised. “Enzo is always willing to challenge himself,” she said. “He encompasses a growth mindset and is always confident that he can indeed do anything he puts his mind to with practice and effort.”

Enzo’s uncle, a professional graphic designer, was working on the Hot Wheels project when Enzo arrived for the holidays. He invited his nephew to help, and the design duo sat down at the computer to create a concept for their car. They used design software to consider different body styles, color choices, and other details. Part of the process was comparing their work to existing toys in the line, and adjusting their design when needed so that it would be a unique addition to the Hot Wheels garage.

“There was one car that had the same color [we wanted], so we had to switch ours,” explained Enzo. Mattel is keeping the car under wraps until its official release, but Enzo did share a tiny sneak peek. “It’s blue,” he said with a smile. “And we added a little [detail] that goes around the driver and then outside the car. It looks really good!”

The car will go into production within the next year and a half, and will be part of a Hot Wheels 10-Pack distributed to stores nationwide. When he’s not designing toys for a major international toy brand, Enzo also loves writing and reading. He excels academically and is known as a helpful classmate to peers in need. One thing he enjoys doing is helping classmates figure out difficult words during reading activities.

“We use ‘stretchy snake,’” he said. Stretchy Snake is a decoding tool that teaches readers to stretch the sounds they hear as they say the letters in a word. “I just sound it out, then we sound it out, and then sound it out again so maybe it will help them.”

Enzo said it makes him feel happy to know he’s helped someone, and understands the effect that sharing his knowledge can have.

“If I am kind to them, they will be kind to me back,” said Enzo.

“Enzo works hard and applies himself every day,” said Ms. Esserman. “Not only is he an exemplary student, he’s a great classroom role model. And, I cannot wait to buy a bunch of his cars for the classroom!”