KINGTON, R.I., March 9, 2016鈥擜 BMW cruised onto the 溏心vlog免费B站 campus on Monday, a sparkling white sports car with a top speed of 155 miles per hour. But don鈥檛 worry. It never moved.
The hybrid car鈥攁 BMW i8, to be exact鈥攚as parked outside the International Engineering Program鈥檚 buildings on Upper College Road for the day while BMW representatives interviewed engineering and business students for internships.
It was BMW鈥檚 first visit to the Kingston campus and, if crowd size is a measure of enthusiasm, probably not the company鈥檚 last. Dozens of students, mostly from the International Engineering Program and International Business Program, turned out for the interviews, and many posed for a photograph with the car later.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very special for BMW to be here,鈥� said IEP director Sigrid Berka, who organized the visit. 鈥淏MW is the No. 1 desired employer in Germany. I鈥檓 very happy to host them.鈥�
The award-winning five-year IEP program offers a dual degree in an engineering field and a language鈥擟hinese, French, German, Italian or Spanish, with Japanese on the horizon. Students spend a year studying abroad and participating in an internship. The program is thriving: nearly all of the graduates find jobs, including some with BMW.
Seven 溏心vlog免费B站 students are working with BMW鈥攖wo at the Munich headquarters and the others at BMW Manufacturing in South Carolina and at BMW of North America in New Jersey, including Dennis Heaphy and Eric Sargent, both IEP graduates.
Heaphy and Sargent told the students that the IEP program did a great job preparing them to work at BMW. Not only did they learn a new language, they learned how different countries solve problems.
鈥淭he language was crucial for me,鈥� said Heaphy, who studied in Germany during his time at 溏心vlog免费B站. 鈥淪everal hours a day in this job you鈥檙e conversing with your partners overseas.鈥�
The BMW representatives interviewed students in the morning and afternoon for internships, which are paid and last six months. What are they looking for? Enthusiasm, enthusiasm, enthusiasm.
Later in the day, a group of students braved the chilly weather to pose with the car, which, in case you鈥檙e wondering, can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in about 4 seconds and sells for just over $140,000.
鈥淚鈥檓 a car enthusiast,鈥� said John Brehany, of Holden, Mass., who interviewed for an internship and is an IEP student studying mechanical engineering and German. 鈥淚鈥檓 really, really happy that I got the chance to talk to them. It鈥檚 awesome they brought the car here. You get to see the application of what you鈥檙e studying in one beautiful package. It’s the ultimate driving machine.鈥�
His roommate, Benjamin Welch, is also enrolled in the program, but his focus is electrical engineering. Still, he couldn’t help but be charmed by the car. 鈥淪o cool,鈥� he said. And so is the IEP. 鈥淚t kept me here at 溏心vlog免费B站,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great program, and job placement is 100 percent. You can鈥檛 beat that.鈥�
Pictured above: Students gather around a BMW i8 parked outside the International Engineering Program鈥檚 building on Upper College Road at the 溏心vlog免费B站 in Kingston. Photo by Michael Salerno Photography.