Written by: Drew Hartt Yarbrough October 13, 2025 A Career Fair Story: Jillian and PepsiCo The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) Business Career Fair is a great place for companies and business students to meet and discuss career opportunities. The fair will take place October 24th on the UAH campus. Company registration is still open! Jillian Northern, a UAH graduate student working towards her masters degree in supply chain management, attended the event last fall which resulted in a summer supply chain internship with PepsiCo. Throughout the summer internship, Northern was responsible for working on two projects. The first project was focused on crewing and overtime optimization. Northern developed a streamlined overtime program by first assessing frontline employee feedback through a site-wide anonymous survey. She then partnered with the PepsiCo crewing team to share insights, address concerns and implement long-term process improvements based on employee input. Secondly, Northern supported an improvised product specifications audit in collaboration with packaging specialists, focusing on change management and process alignment. She helped define the project’s direction, outline actionable steps and set realistic expectations to ensure a smooth transition and lasting improvements. “The internship gave me a real taste of working full-time in a corporate environment, collaborating with professionals from different backgrounds, engaging with my manager and contributing to meaningful projects. I learned how to organize information, communicate effectively across teams and understand the importance of employee feedback and buy-in when implementing changes,” said Northern. As a student herself, Northern understands that attending the Business Career Fair can be nervewracking. “Just do it! Put yourself out there. You never know what opportunities might come your way, but if you don’t try, you’ll never gain anything. Every experience can help you grow in your career,” she said. Companies and organizations interested in attending the UAH Business Career Fair can register online or email the college’s Career and Internship Advisor, Mona Foroughi, mona.foroughi@uah.edu. UAH students interested in attending are welcome to attend in business professional attire beginning at 10:30 a.m. on October 24th in the Business Administration Building.