In short, the joint effort between GenNext and Northwood University to help ten aftermarket students attend Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW) was a complete success.
Sponsored by Accuride, Bendix, Betts HD, Hendrickson, Minimizer and the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association (HDMA), the students spend the week assisting event organizers, shadowing industry professionals, attending educational sessions and networking events.
GenNext and Northwood University were both thrilled by the results.
“I was getting really positive feedback from industry people all last week,” says Donna Wagner, chair and professor of aftermarket management at Northwood University. “We received a lot of comments from industry people about how well [the students] represented the University.”
Wagner says the concept of including young aftermarket students in the HDAW experience was originally proposed to her by Nikki Paschall, marketing assistant at HDA Truck Pride and GenNext Recruitment committee chair.
Paschall says she and GenNext President Steve Hansen came up with the scholarship idea, and chose Northwood because of its aftermarket-specific program.
When proposed, the scholarship idea was quickly accepted by the school and set into motion, Wagner says.
