A warm welcome
Engineering isn’t easy, Jake Hooks told first-year students at North Carolina State University in August. But if you’re persistent, all that hard work will pay off with a dynamic career.
“You may study longer than anyone else on campus,” Hooks said. “The benefit is that you will receive some of the most challenging and rewarding assignments when you graduate.”
Hooks, a 1978 NC State alumnus in materials engineering and president of the Automotive North America business of Eaton Corp., was the keynote speaker at the 11th annual College of Engineering Welcome event on Aug. 18.
About 1,000 first-year engineering students packed the McKimmon Center for the event, which was organized by the College’s First-Year Engineering Program. The program also runs new student orientation activities and guides students during their first year toward matriculation into an engineering department.
During his address, Hooks offered five life lessons that had their genesis at NC State: Surround yourself with smart people; develop an intellectual curiosity basis for lifelong learning; develop discipline and critical-thinking skills; show initiative; and develop the confidence to be a leader.
“An engineering degree from NC State will open many doors for you,” Hooks said. “It gave me the confidence to be a leader.”
After graduating from NC State, Hooks began his career with Aeroquip as a product engineer in June 1978. When Eaton acquired the company in April 1999, he became vice president and general manager for Eaton’s Global Hose Division.
At Eaton, he has also served as vice president of engineering and product development; vice president and general manager of the Industrial Division; vice president and general manager for the Automotive Group’s Powertrain Controls Division; vice president of sales and marketing for the Automotive Group; and his most recent position of president of the Engine Air Management Business.
Hooks is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s Executive Program and has completed the Global Leadership 2020 program at the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
Eaton, which sponsored the welcome event, is a global diversified power management company with more than 70,000 employees and a significant presence in North Carolina. The company is also an industry partner of NSF FREEDM Systems Center at NC State, which is working to revolutionize the nation’s electric grid and bring renewable energy technologies into millions of homes and businesses.
