COBI Fall 2017 grad prepared for position at Constellium Automotive

Cornelius Crawford was excited to graduate at the end of fall semester, 2017. As of January, he will begin his full-time position as a purchasing manager for Constellium Automotive in Michigan, a supplier for companies such as Chrysler, GM and Tesla.

“This is exactly what I wanted to do,” he said.

Cornelius Crawford

“In high school at Central Catholic, I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Crawford said. “One minute I wanted to go to college, but didn’t know what I wanted to major in; one minute I wanted to go into the military, because my father was in the navy for four years. When I figured out that I wanted to go to college, I didn’t know what I wanted to study, but I knew I wanted to be successful, and I knew I wanted to do something within business. I love money, and I am  extremely competitive. What attracted me to the University of Toledo and business is because I knew I wanted to go into the automotive industry. It is competitive, aggressive, and there is a lot going on. After I did my research, I knew I wanted to go into supply chain.”  

“My favorite class was Principles of Manufacturing because I interned at the Jeep plant, so a lot of what I learned I actually used. I do enjoy cars, the excitement of the automotive industry; it’s a lot of problem solving. That was an all day, every day thing, constantly solving problems, and that’s what interests me. I started at Jeep in the summer of 2016, and they asked me to come back for the summer of 2017.”

“I worked with the COBI Business Career Programs office beginning in my sophomore year, attended every career fair,” Crawford said.  “Constellium was at the job fair, and I spoke to the recruiters, who saw that I had experience in the automotive field.”

“I want to pursue a masters because a bachelors degree is just not enough. A mentor often told me, ‘Don’t get comfortable.’ I didn’t understand it at first, but the more I progressed, I understood why, because I fell in love with achieving goals and going to the next level. The sky’s the limit, and I try to be the best I can be.”

“My success coaches here at UT were a huge support system. They saw that I wanted to do it, and they showed me the structure to do it. You could go to their office any time, I received emails and text messages of support. Here in COBI Craig Turner in the Business Careers Program office really helped me with the career fairs, helped me with my resume, how to conduct myself in a business way. I have had nothing but good experiences here. “

“I see why time is precious, because whatever it is you want, if you can put in the time, block out other things, the reward is much bigger and you feel ten times better.  It’s all about putting in the time, and setting your mind to it: I will understand it, I will get it, I will pass it, he said."

“If someone was looking at the UT College of Business, I would recommend it 100%. The College of Business here gives you so many opportunities to figure out what you want to do. COBI has all the different clubs and organizations, the business fraternities, the career fair, the business luncheon; you can come here and talk to an advisor to find your niche.  Take advantage of the opportunities. I promise you will grow. You can’t fail. All of the resources are right here in front of you, it’s just a matter of you doing it!”