Student Spotlight: Shannon Mackey

Shannon Mackey (MHRIR expected December 2012) is excited about her summer plans at the PepsiCo (Frito Lay) Fayetteville, TN, snack food facility, where she will be working for LER graduate Matt Zink, MHRIR 2002. The 330,000-square-foot site employs 500 non-union employees and annually produces 100 million pounds of snacks, including Doritos, Lays, Ruffles, Tostitos, Fritos, Baked Cheetos and Munchos. This assignment is a generalist role that will expose her to issues surrounding preparation for a future plant expansion.

Mackey hails from LaGrange, IL, and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois before starting at LER last fall, part of the largest incoming class in the history of the program. Her part time jobs and leadership experiences through her time at Illinois have highlighted her fundraising and philanthropy skills. “I love helping people and making a difference in their lives. I realized that Human Resources would allow me to do this in a business setting. The day-to-day interaction with client groups and ability to have an impact on people’s work lives is really exciting to me.”

The most exciting thing about her summer? The ability to move out of her comfort zone – away from Illinois and into a plant assignment working with a client group in a manufacturing facility. “This is an uneasy situation for me, and I was nervous at first,” Shannon admitted, “but the more I think about it, the more I realize that this is the start to a wonderful career. I couldn’t be more excited.”

When asked why she chose PepsiCo, she finds that the overall culture of the organization is the biggest draw. The enthusiasm and energy of the employees, and their dedication to making a great product in a great work environment is a big selling point.

“The best thing about LER? The relationships. Not only am I meeting people that are becoming wonderful friends, they are going to be a fantastic network of peers once I am in the workplace. And the faculty and administration are so accessible – I wouldn’t have made it this far without them,” says Mackey.