| Global automotive manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation understands and taps into the wealth of knowledge, education and qualified workforce that A&T produces every year. It’s no surprise that the College of Business and Economics (COBE) and the College of Engineering (COE) partnered with the international company on Feb. 7 to present Toyota Day.
Although A&T is a definite recruiting site for Toyota, the event was geared more toward telling the Toyota story. Several alumni were more than happy to return to their alma mater as the company’s mouthpieces and representation.
“As an A&T alumna, I think it is important to reach out to students and to provide them the necessary information to have effective interviews and to provide tips to start their career on a successful trajectory. I believe students want to have a connection with alums, who were once in their shoes,” said Michaela Edwards, a route planning analyst for Toyota and a 2010 graduate of COBE. “When I was a student I valued the opportunities that I had to connect and learn from alumni who were once in my shoes. The students can benefit from viewing the pathways taken to transition from a college student to a professional.”
The partnership provided the perfect opportunity for students of COBE and COE to interact with professionals that are actively operating in the positions that many of them are looking to secure upon graduation as well as provide a better understanding of the various facets involved in Toyota’s operations.
The day included a general information session about Toyota as well as topic-driven class visits such as Management Science, Business Environment and Introduction to Supply Chain.
Representatives excitedly shared how Toyota is pushing beyond the boundaries of automobile production and advancing into new horizons of mobility beyond the current landscape. In its expansion, the company is intentionally and strategically targeting a diverse workforce and becoming even more globally inclusive.
While on campus, the Toyota team also provided interview and career tips to students in preparation for the university’s upcoming career fair. The event was an opportunity for one alumna to extend a helping hand to a fellow Aggie, something she has been looking forward to since graduation.
“The first Toyota Day at N.C. A&T was the perfect time for me to have face-to-face, candid conversations with the faculty, students and staff at N.C. A&T about my experiences at Toyota and to share what a solid company Toyota is to work for. I can only hope that all former A&T students will feel compelled to return and leave the door open and the ladder down for students to follow,” said Neecha McDougal, a Toyota procurement consultant in Logistics and packaging and 2012 and 2014 graduate of the COE.
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