Scholars are Recruiting Priority for Honda

With a new academic year underway, the Honda scholars (a group of OSU engineering students who receive a scholarship from the Honda-Ohio State Partnership) met on Nov. 8 for an evening of networking to learn how to turn a rewarding scholarship experience at Ohio State into a successful career opportunity at Honda.

Presentations from Honda HR staff provided an overview of co-op/internship and employment opportunities at the company’s research and manufacturing facilities, while a young professionals panel gave the students an up-close look at the Honda’s professional culture.

Honda recruiters Nicole Drew and Lindsay Rippingale told students that employment opportunities for next spring and summer are available in research, manufacturing and business operations, stressing that Honda hires all types of engineers, not just mechanical and electrical.

The panel consisting of Drew and Rippingale, along with engineers Traviss Alexander and Kevin Sheipline discussed making the transition from college to the Honda work environment, described what they liked best about Honda’s open and flexible work environment, and encouraged the scholars to complete multiple internships before graduation.

Four classes of 61 engineering students currently receive the $3,000 annual scholarship from the Honda-Ohio State Partnership. As high school seniors, the scholars were awarded the Honda-Ohio State Math Medal, which included the scholarship opportunity at OSU’s College of Engineering.

Last year, the Math Medal was expanded to include all STEM areas and was rebranded as the Honda-Ohio State STEM Award. In addition, 10 new scholarships in business and arts and sciences were added to the 20 engineering scholarships that have been awarded for the past 13 years.

The partnership hosts the Honda Scholars twice a year at events designed to introduce the students to Honda, support their pursuit of an engineering degree and develop a relationship with them throughout their undergraduate education.

“Honda has a need to utilize college students to work on our projects as well as to become co-ops or full-time staff in the future,” explained Mike Wiseman, co-director of the Honda-Ohio State Partnership. “The Honda scholars program is a priority starting point for this search.”