Going to Honda Technical College to become a mechanic

I was born in Korea and since I was a kid loved tinkering with machines, such as repairing watches. I have always loved “things,” so I started to hope to become a mechanic to repair large, complex things such as cars. As I researched, I learned that there were very few women in the industry, and I was curious to take dive in. When I talked to my family about it, my father, who often went to Japan on business, told me that there were educational institutions in Japan where they made future mechanics. With advice from a friend I decided to go to the Honda Technical College.

Resonating with Honda’s challenging spirit

At first, I joined the two-year automotive maintenance course to obtain a mechanic’s license, but I wanted to learn more about cars , so I transferred to the four-year course to learn about car development. In the Automobile Research and Development Course, the lecturers had careers in development at Honda, so I was able to learn about manufacturing in a systematic way and had a fulfilling time.

Honda Technical College has women and international students, and has a school culture that values the challenging spirit. My teacher told me that “Honda gives its employees opportunities regardless of gender or nationality as long as you are motivated,” so I wanted to work for Honda after graduating. Honda Technical College is a vocational school affiliated with Honda, but in order to join the company, students are required to achieve good grades. I studied hard with a wide range of interests, which helped me join Honda successfully.

Learning by expanding my fields

My biggest motivation working at Honda is the environment in which I am allowed to do things freely if I say I want to do them. I was a part of the Eco-run club at Honda Technical College, and I love motorsports. There was an open invitation internally to work on Student Formula, and although motorsports are not directly related to my daily duties, I expressed my enthusiasm to my boss and was able to participate.

The students who are working hard to reach the top in Student Formula made me energetic. I interact with engineers from other companies to improve my technical skills and expand my circle of friends in preparation for future opportunities to be involved in motorsports.

In addition, students from overseas also participate in Student Formula competition. I really know what kind of difficulties they face when they prepare for the competition in Japan where they could not speak its language because I experienced the same situation once. I tried to do something that support their challenge.