Profile: Anthony Davis

With two General Motors Corp. internships under his belt, Anthony Davis was thrilled to accept a full-time position as an associate manufacturing engineer with the company this spring.

“I definitely wanted to come back,” said the Philadelphia native who has a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Penn State, where he first met recruiters from GM at a career fair. “I liked the work environment and liked living out here.”

Davis, 22, spent two summers here and made plenty of GM friends. Plus he likes the weather. “It was really nice,” he said, noting that he’s not concerned about winter after spending four winters in the mountains of State College, Penn.

But what really sold him was the job. During his internships, GM hosted lunch events where employees spoke about their jobs and opportunities with the company.

“It helped create the sense of belonging,” he said.

After he’d committed to GM, he got an offer from Lockheed Martin in Virginia that he may have entertained had they not taken so long.

“GM was really on top of things,” he said, adding that he has no regrets.

Meanwhile, he’s looking forward to cruising around the area. “There are some great malls, and I definitely want to get to the Detroit Zoo and up to the north,” he said, referring to northern Oakland County. “You go from the city to this nice secluded area.”

What do his friends say? His friends in the south still think Detroit is this heavy industrial town with grayish smoke coming out of towers. “I say: It’s not like that at all, it’s nice.”