Inaugural Clemson University Scholarship
Goken America, a North America-based engineering and technology company, announced the hiring of Chance Corwin, a Mechanical Engineering graduate from Clemson University, who was the inaugural recipient of the Goken America Scholarship for Mechanical Engineering students pursuing a Certificate in Automotive Engineering at Clemson.
Corwin is a native of Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina – not a traditional center of mobility engineering.
“Traveler’s Rest isn’t a big city and there’s often not a lot to do,” he said. “I started working on my first car – a Suzuki Samurai – exchanging parts and modifying it; and through all that work, I became interested in the design of cars.”
That interest, following his graduation from high school, led Corwin to Clemson University, with one of the top-ranked automotive engineering programs and home to the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR). CU-ICAR offers the nation’s only graduate Department of Automotive Engineering.
At Clemson, Corwin pursued his automotive engineering education goal. He admits that he “was not the best at math,” but learned that through hard work and focus, success was achievable. In his senior year, he was awarded the Goken America Scholarship, which helped pay for his CU-ICAR Certificate of Automotive Engineering studies.
Following graduation in spring 2019, Corwin made many applications – including to Goken America. “I didn’t know if there was much of a chance there,” he said, “but I remembered the company and meeting Doug Smith, their CEO, so I thought I’d try.”
He started his position at Goken America on May 20, where he’s responsible for the development of automotive products.
“We’re happy to have Chance join our team,” said Doug Smith, Goken America CEO. “We recognized his potential when we awarded him our inaugural scholarship at Clemson, and we’re certain that his dedication and enthusiasm will continually grow his technical skills and make him an important contributor to our success.”
Smith noted that Goken America faces the same talent shortage as the industry overall but has taken a leadership position in the industry by initiating educational partnerships and technical workforce development programs to address the shortage. The company’s involvement with the Ohio State Center for Automotive Research and CU-ICAR has led to contributions and interaction in safety engineering, hybrid and alternative fuel drivetrains, and cutting-edge CAV and ADAS research and development.