Mason is a smart and charitable young man who was our very last interview before Covid shut the world down. Between treatments, some health hiccups, and college, his Dream was put on hold for some time, but this fall, we were finally able to send Mason to see a Formula 1 race in Austin, Texas. Not only that, he got the VIP treatment and hung out with his favorite driver in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team hospitality in the Paddock. “It was awesome!” Mason told us.

Upon arriving in Austin, Mason checked into his hotel, that thoughtfully had a welcome basket full of goodies ready for him. The next morning, he and his father headed to the racetrack and were shuttled into the private Mercedes- AMG Petronas F1 Hospitality in the Paddock. “It was just us and the rest of the Mercedes team,” Mason said, “They were all in their uniforms and there we were, just these normal guys in normal clothes. It was crazy.”

“At one point, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell walked in!” Mason said.

After lunch, Mason and his father were taken on a tour of the garage, to see both race cars. “It was so cool to see all the very small things that impact the race and the weekend,” Mason commented. “We ran into where the car was, and it was disassembled – it was so cool. We asked a ton of questions – the guy leading us through there was just amazing. We also got to talk to all the engineers,” Mason told us.

Afterward, Mason was taken back to the Hospitality where he was introduced to Lewis Hamilton, who has coming straight from his ESPN interview. “I was just in awe. I didn’t know what to expect. But he was really invested and really cared. I asked about his big philanthropy efforts, and he really liked talking about that. We were talking about that for so long that he was late to his press conference!” Mason said. He added, “He was the most genuine guy. He’s had all this success – he doesn’t need to be doing this, but he cares, and he has such a big impact. He’s such an inspiration.”

Later that day, Mason and his dad got to go on a pit walk in the VIP area. “It was really loud, but really cool to see,” said Mason. “Everyone eventually cleared out, then everyone but Mercedes was left and ready to practice. They gave us headphones so we could hear the communication between the Chief mechanic and mechanics while they were practicing.”

At the end of the day, Mason saw Lewis Hamilton once again. “He came up to me and shook my hand. He wished me well, and it just affirmed how cool and genuine he is, because he came up on his own volition,” he said.

The next day, Mason was in the general area of the race, which was very different, “but still really cool!” And the following day was the actual race. “It was really exciting!” he exclaimed. “You don’t understand the enormity of it until you see it in real life. It was awesome – it went by way too fast!”

Mason reflected, “Three years ago, I was in the hospital getting my transplant. A photo came up in my memories recently – one of my worst photos. I was hooked up to oxygen with a towel on my head, my nose bleeding, I felt terrible. And today, I am worried about my marketing and accounting test. It’s a reminder that I’ve got it pretty good now.”

Indeed, he does. Mason is a business student at UVA and currently studying abroad in Madrid, Spain. Mason was excited to report that when the representative at Mercedes found out he was going to be in Europe for a semester, he was invited to visit the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team factory in the UK this February!

We cannot wait to hear all about his visit and are thrilled that Mason got to experience such a meaningful Dream. We are thankful for our partnership with #ChartwayPromiseFoundation and for the generosity of Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team for helping to make this Dream come true for Mason.