The Automotive Expo took place on April 11, with a turnout of around 60 people looking for different opportunities.
Hosted by the automotive engineering technology program, it featured students showing off the work they have done on their cars and companies offering internship opportunities, as well as showcasing new car models, including a Hammer EV and the latest EV Dodge supercar.
and personal projects outside of school. Photo by: Sam Mulder | Torch Photographer
Coordinator and head of the automotive engineering technology program Patrick English talked about the importance of the expo.
“The automotive department, what we do here and what all we have here isn’t really, really well known across campus, and so this helps raise awareness among the other students, as to what we have, and what our capabilities are here in the automotive department,” English said.
English explained how they have the support of the local community and the high schools that come and do tours.
The expo’s purpose was to bring anybody interested in automotive to one place, working as a car show, a networking event and a place for students to show off their skills.
Students chose to bring their own cars in, volunteer or just explore the event overall. Cars lined up along the parking lot with their hoods popped open while other vehicles, including motorbikes and dune buggies, also made an appearance.
Automotive engineering technology junior Brock McBride has participated in the expo before.
“So this is my second year being here in the expo. I’ve had my car in the expo both years that I’ve been here on campus,” McBride said. “It’s a good time to be out here. Good time to meet a bunch of people and hang out with friends and just see what everybody has.”
McBride, along with his best friends, built a custom dune buggy displayed in the show. They had worked on the buggy for two years with the goal of traveling fast across the sand.
“It’s kind of a personal accomplishment of me and my friends because we’ve been working on it for so long and trying to get it done and just being able to get it out here and get people to see it. It’s a pretty good feeling,” McBride said.
The expo demonstrates part of the program by giving students feedback from their peers and working with the public. It also gave students a chance to polish up on what skills they already have, put themselves out there and even volunteer.
Automotive engineering technology sophomore Noah Gordan commented on how the event served as a career fair for students in automotive majors.
“It is a pretty cool opportunity to have some companies to talk to that are like for us, because the big career fairs that are in, like the REC, there’s not a ton of automotive companies there, which is just kind of sad to see,” Gordan said. “This is a pretty big industry, and like, there are a lot of companies out there, so it’s cool that we can do this every semester and have some companies out.”
Gordan was one of the student volunteers giving tours to people during the event.
One of the long-term goals for the program is to host their own career fair in the future.
“One of the things that I say, and you know, we’re Ferris automotive, and so it doesn’t matter what they put under the hood, we’re going to make sure that our students can be successful with servicing it or working with it,” English said.
The expo gave students a chance to explore old and new cars and career opportunities.