Dallas SWE kicked off professional development for FY20 with a Networking Night hosted by Frito-Lay at PepsiCo Headquarters on Tuesday, August 27. The first event in the recently remodeled conference room, 53 SWE members, PepsiCo employees, and guests began the evening by developing new connections and snacking on Frito-Lay chips and Pepsi beverages.
The first half of the event included a tour of R&D and the Culinary Experience. The tour included viewing analytical labs, Gold Standard Quality room, the R&D lines for testing and improving new product creations, and finally, the packaging lab. Being able to see the equipment that puffs a Cheeto and learning about the process was especially exciting. During the Culinary Experience, we were able to taste a new product and hear first hand from the Chef about the creative process of developing new snack foods and working with the product team, especially engineers, on getting the best product to market.
Next, Yolanda A. Malone, Vice President, Global Foods Packaging at PepsiCo, and Laura Bankson, Sr. Director of Manufacturing & Sustainability COE at Frito-Lay North America, engaged in a panel discussion led by Lex Clark, Supply Chain Engineer and lead organizer for the event. As accomplished leaders at PepsiCo, Yolanda and Laura gave attendees valuable advice on moving up, and sometimes laterally, in careers and how both can be advantageous at times. Sharing their first-hand experiences of both success and failure, they encouraged everyone to challenge themselves. A very special thank you to Yolanda Malone and Laura Bankson for taking the time to share their valuable insight into successful careers and for being dedicated examples of women engineers in leadership.
Dallas SWE would also like to thank the coordinators inside Frito-Lay and PepsiCo for organizing this amazing event: Lex Clark, Alexa Garcia Dangeli, Maria Jose Mendizabal, and Rachel Madden.
A local SWENext member was also able to attend and provided a reflection on her experiences with SWE, including this meeting:
“As a sophomore in high school, I am starting to think about college. A few years ago, I attended a Dallas SWE Design Your World program and learned about engineering. I thought engineering involved working with computers and robots because of what I was learning in school, but the event showed me that there are many more possibilities. I became a member of SWENext after Design Your World and have been trying to narrow down what type of engineering degree I might pursue in college.
I was very happy to hear that it would be okay for me to attend the Dallas SWE Networking Night at Frito Lay/PepsiCo HQ on August 27. The tour of the Frito Lay R&D building was very interesting and I had an opportunity to ask some questions and speak with some engineers. I also enjoyed listening to Yolanda Malone and Laura Bankson share their experiences and career paths, and some of the challenges they have overcome. The program gave me a glimpse into a possible career path and the types of engineering degrees that might be useful if I want to do this type of work. I hope to attend other SWE Dallas events in the future as I learned a lot at this program!”
-Mimi, SWENext Member