Nation’s largest-ever campaign to promote careers and recruit talent to fill jobs in Michigan’s surging electric vehicle (EV) and transportation mobility sector will include at least 12 Spartans on track for up to $10,000 scholarships while working at companies in Metro Detroit, Lansing, Jackson and Saginaw
WHEN: 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, April 26
WHERE: MSU Engineering Building Lobby (428 S. Shaw Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824-1226)
WHO:
- MSU College of Engineering Employer Engagement Director Garth Motschenbacher
- Michigan Economic Development Corp. President and CEO Quentin L. Messer, Jr.
- MSU Associate Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering Dr. Nelson Sepulveda
MSU students being recognized hail from regions across the state including Detroit, SE Michigan, Lansing, Grand Rapids and Benton Harbor (the students’ hometowns and the location of their respective employers is included in the list below)
WHAT: Press conference where MSU College of Engineering will host a “Signing Day” ceremony honoring students who represent the inaugural class of Michigander EV Scholars. Students will be celebrated while signing letters of intent with Michigan corporations for exciting summer/fall of internship/co-op opportunities with electric vehicles. The goal is to highlight students in MSU’s Michigander EV Scholars program who have accepted an offer with an EV-related partner company approved by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) and its new Talent Action Team (TAT).
The MEDC announced March 1 that the Great Lakes State is kicking off the nation’s largest-ever campaign to promote careers and recruit talent to fill jobs in Michigan’s surging electric vehicle and transportation mobility sector. The Michigander EV Scholars program is offering up to $10,000 scholarships to as many as 350 top tech students at participating universities who sign a letter of employment with an approved company and commit to staying for 12 months in Michigan. The MSU EV scholars being recognized Wednesday have accepted internship offers and will receive an initial $5,000 scholarship that qualifies them for the full $10,000 offer upon acceptance of a full-time job in Michigan.
The MEDC Talent Action Team’s public-private partnership is aimed at recruiting EV and mobility talent in 2023 with 15 major Michigan employers, higher education partners including MSU, the University of Michigan, Michigan Technological University, Ferris State University, Macomb Community College and Schoolcraft College, and Michigan Works! agencies across the state.
The top positions TAT core employers in the automotive sector need support with recruiting include software developers, electrical engineers, production workers and front-line supervisors. While Michigan has had success in increasing the number of graduates in these fields, the state’s goal is to rapidly accelerate skilling in computer science, engineering and manufacturing to meet growing industry demand.
MSU’s Michigander EV Scholar students will sit at a table and sign their letters of intent to work at an EV company in Michigan.
NOTE: Media/photographers will have access to Spartan students who are headed into this new statewide program and full-time EV jobs.
The students who will be honored Wednesday with their anticipated graduation and respective employers include:
- Eduardo Ferdinandi of Birmingham – Computer Science / Spring 26 | General Motors (Warren)
- Kurk Edwards of Oak Park – Electrical Engineering / Spring 24 | Commonwealth Association (Jackson)
- Pranav Rakkappan of Northville – Applied Engineering-Computer / Spring 24 | Toyota (Ann Arbor)
- Dauan Hendley of Detroit – Electrical Engineering / Spring 2024 | Nissan (Farmington Hills)
- Brian Garica Ibarra of Pontiac – Electrical Engineering / Fall 2023 | Ford Motor (Dearborn)
- Shane Pat of Thailand – Computer Science / Spring 2024 | Ford Motor (Allen Park)
- Noah Sanders of Benton Harbor – Computer Engineering / Fall 2024 | Nexteer (Saginaw)
- Nyah Williams of Detroit – Electrical Engineering / Sprint 2025 | Lansing Board of Water & Light
- Manov Singh of Lansing – Computer Science / Spring 2024 | Lansing Board of Water & Light
- Morghane McAnelly of Rochester Hills – Computer Science / Fall 2024 | Ford Motor (Allen Park)
- Chris Martin of Northville – Electrical Engineering / Spring 2024 | American Axle (Detroit)
- Logan Lara of Grand Rapids – Computer Engineering / Spring 2025 | Lear Corporation (Troy)
Media Contact: Patricia Mroczek
MSU Engineering Communications Manager
Cell: 810-240-1889 | mroczekp@msu.edu
Media Contact: Mike Nowlin
Cell: 989-450 0855 | nowlin@gudmarketing.com