When you think of PepsiCo or Frito Lay, you may think of drinks and snacks, and not necessarily consider engineering job opportunities. However, the company has employees in data science, process improvement, packaging, and software engineering, to name a few.
Anaiya Williamson, a senior student majoring in Industrial Systems, secured an internship at PepsiCo this past summer through the Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) organization. Through her relationship with MLT, she was able to attend a conference in Plano, Texas where students were given the opportunity to meet with several companies. At the conference, Anaiya met with the PepsiCo corporation. Soon after the conference, she followed up with the company on Linkedin and was invited to interview, a proof point that staying in touch and following up can lead to job opportunities.
When asked about her internship at PepsiCo, Anaiya responded by saying, “The experience was super fun, engaging, and challenging. I’ve never met that many open, kind, and humble people at a company before.” To add to her good impression of PepsiCo, Anaiya met a very diverse group of interns at PepsiCo and created new friendships that could last a lifetime.
Each of the 40 interns was paired up with a manager at PepsiCo and given a specific project to work on during the summer. “It was amazing having your project talked about in town hall and other leadership meetings,” Anaiya added. She was not left out in the PepsiCo environment to fend for herself and acquired an amazing network of employees to help her succeed. At the end of the internship, Anaiya had the opportunity to present her project to the senior leadership team as well as her internship cohort, which helped her develop confidence and other soft skills that she can use in the industry.
Anaiya suggests that when taking on an internship opportunity, you really have to advocate for yourself and not be afraid of asking for help. She was hesitant at first about asking for assistance but soon realized that there are people around you who are way more knowledgeable so why not tap into that resource? “There is no shame in asking for help. Just be confident in yourself and realize that you have learned so much in the classes you have taken. Be confident in who you are,” said Anaiya.
Anaiya’s biggest takeaway during the internship was to always stay curious and to continuously look for areas of improvement. She has had internships in the past, but her experience at PepsiCo exceeded her expectations, she didn’t expect everyone to be so kind and welcoming, and she didn’t expect to meet so many interns from across the country. Her greatest piece of advice to other students looking for an internship opportunity is to not be afraid to seek a job out of state and to go out of your comfort zone.
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