Mai Kurita knows a lot about the challenging spirit.
She joined Honda as a contingent associate at the East Liberty Auto Plant (ELP) Paint Department in 2015 and eventually became a Honda engineer for the Interior group in North American Market Quality. However, her path has been anything but usual.
After working as a restaurant server for several years while getting her bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration and Process Management, Kurita joined Honda for a change. And that’s just what she got.
“I was a paint inspector in Paint for two years to gain experience from Honda associates who have 20 to 30 years of experience,” she said. “At the time, I wasn’t sure I wanted a career at Honda. In 2017, I realized I had enough experience in Paint to look for another challenge.”
And that something more was achieved with help from Honda’s tuition reimbursement program. Kurita decided she would go to school for another year and a half to become an engineer. But before she graduated, she wanted a co-op term at Honda to gain some real-world experience.
“I only had production experience,” she said. “I needed engineering experience and thought a co-op term would be great for me.”
“I am lucky enough to work with great people who work hard and take great pride in what they do. That led me to where I am in my life today. It’s all the Honda team effort. We build the products with pride.”
Finding a co-op term, however, was difficult for Kurita, especially applying as a current Honda associate and non-traditional student. But she used her challenging spirit to continue searching and asking until she got a co-op term in the Weld Department at ELP. After that, she took another co-op term in the Purchasing Quality Department and graduated in 2019 with a degree in Industrial Engineering Technology. After graduation, she joined Honda’s Engineering Development Program (EDP).
“We need more diversity to be able to make different products for our customers. I would like to encourage women interested in becoming engineers to go for it. Honda will support you. Hopefully, I won’t be the only woman in the room. We need thought diversity to be creative and have a product before the customer asks for it.”
“The EDP program sends engineers to different departments and different plants to learn and network,” she said.
After rotating through five different departments through the two-year EDP Program, Kurita found her place at Honda.
“I decided the best rotation was in Market Quality,” she said. “I had plant experience and experience in purchasing, but didn’t have much on the customer side.”
Now, Kurita spends her days performing quality root problem analysis on interior problems reported by customers. She is proud of her work and loves seeing Honda and Acura products in use.
“I am lucky enough to work with great people who work hard and take great pride in what they do,” she said. “That led me to where I am in my life today. It’s all the Honda team effort. We build the products with pride.”
But pride isn’t the only feeling that has guided Kurita on her journey.
“At ELP every day, you go through the sky walk and see the Power of Dreams posters,” she said. “Honda talks about respect for the individual, passion and dreams, so I decided to go for it. If I can do it, anyone can.”
While Kurita took an unusual path to get where she is today, she wants to encourage other women to become engineers too, no matter the path.
“We need more diversity to be able to make different products for our customers,” she said. “I would like to encourage women interested in becoming engineers to go for it. Honda will support you. Hopefully, I won’t be the only woman in the room. We need thought diversity to be creative and have a product before the customer asks for it.”
Kurita wants others to apply the challenging spirit to their lives to help Honda continue being a company society wants to exist.
