By Amy Antenora
Editor, aftermarketNews
MIDLAND , MI – More than 50,000 people were expected to turn out this past weekend for the 43th annual Northwood Auto Show. Each year, Northwood University’s campus in Midland, MI, is transformed into a tree-lined showroom of cars and creativity. While it’s billed as North America ’s largest outdoor auto show, this is not the only thing special about it. What makes it truly impressive is that it’s entirely created and produced by students.
This year’s show, themed “The Fantasy of Innovation,” included three days of events – from VIP panel discussions and tours of the auto show to a classic car cruise and the university’s homecoming football game.
Students from nearly every college at Northwood University get the opportunity each year to put their education and training to good use, helping to develop the annual show – from marketing and advertising students to accounting and design students; each has a role to play. Students are responsible for every detail of the event: acquiring the vehicles and automotive products on display, the look of the show, the program materials, advertising, even the financial details.
For students like Bob Paschall, a junior Aftermarket major at Northwood, the show is a great introduction to a future aftermarket career.
Paschall, who has worked on the show all three years that he has been studying at Northwood, is in charge of the aftermarket display at this year’s show. As Aftermarket Chairperson for this year’s show, he was charged with managing six teams of students and all 23 aftermarket vendors participating in the show. And while it’s a lot of work, Paschall says it has been an excellent experience.
“It has given me a lot of management skills, helped me fine tune them,” Paschall said. ”It also helped me land an internship, which we are required to complete for our degree.”
Last summer, thanks to his participation in the annual auto show, Paschall was invited to be an intern at Tenneco Automotive where he served as field sales support for Tenneco’s Dallas/Fort Worth office. When asked what he plans to do after graduating next year, Paschall said he would like to eventually own his own business but first would like to work in sales and parts distribution, a segment of the industry that he says intrigues him.
Paschall is just one of many students planning to pursue a career in the aftermarket following graduation from Northwood. While he says he’s always had an interest in cars, there is no doubt the auto show has only helped to increase his passion for the aftermarket, after seeing his hard work come to fruition in such a spectacular way.
