Simple Secrets of an Award-Winning Magna Mentor
To cap their co-op experience at the Magna Engineering Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, students take trips to dealerships and auto shows. Their mission: check out the technology they’ve helped to develop and how it ends up on some of the most exciting vehicles in the market.
“If a student can work on a project and have an outcome they can see, touch and feel, that gives them a sense of accomplishment – and that’s my goal,” said Brett Gorby, a product engineering manager and mentor to co-op students at the center.
For his significant influence on these aspiring engineers, Gorby was named 2024 Supervisor of the Year by Michigan’s Grand Valley State University School of Engineering co-op program. The award is based on cumulative student and faculty feedback, along with site visits, over the past several years.
“I tell them I’ll be there for them, whether it’s school, work or life.”
Gorby’s first assignment for his co-op students: get a hands-on feel for Magna products, particularly the complex mirrors engineered at the center. Hundreds of elements that make up these components are spread across a table, as Gorby explains the history of automotive mirrors from the humble chrome reflective versions to today’s technical marvels.
“It’s one of my favorite moments,” Gorby said. “The reaction is ‘I thought a mirror was a piece of plastic and glass.’ Then, they realize it’s advanced technology that interacts with other systems. They get to be a part of it, and they begin to understand the world of engineering.”
A believer in “active mentoring,” Gorby has a personable teaching style honed during his years as a local youth football and lacrosse coach. His approach is designed to make Magna co-op students happy and excited to come to work.
“I tell them I’ll be there for them, whether it’s school, work or life,” he said. “I want them to be collaborative and innovative. That happens if they feel comfortable and supported. My reward system is acknowledging their work and shaking their hand.”
Another tangible result of the mentoring: 53% of the engineers at the center are Grand Valley State University graduates, while over 70% of them have completed a co-op or internship program. One of Gorby’s recent co-op students just got hired at the center, always a point of pride for this mentor.
Whether in the factory or on the athletic field, Gorby leans into his time-tested coaching style.
“Everyone will remember two coaches,” he said. “Their best coach and their worst coach. You strive to be the best coach.”
Caleb Hart, one of Gorby’s co-op students, puts it another way, saying his award-winning mentor “wants to make sure that I succeed in everything I do.”
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