Chicago students gain career insights through PepsiCo’s paid summer internship program

CHICAGO - Internships are a great way for students to get a glimpse of future career options. This summer, PepsiCo gave local youth an opportunity to learn about marketing, sales and social impact at one of the most well-known brands in the world. 

PepsiCo’s PREP program (Pathways to Readiness and Empowerment Program) is part of the company’s investment in under-resourced Chicago communities. They’ve partnered with Chicago Cares to identify students from the South and West sides who will benefit from this three-part strategy.

"It gives them an opportunity to see something and then they can aspire to the thing they’re seeing," said Rose Drumgoole, CEO of Chicago Cares.

Over the 8-week internship, students exchanged ideas with the marketing team, learned about the hiring process with human resources executives and had exposure to what has made PepsiCo the second-largest food and beverage business in the world.

"Pepsi is a lucrative company, and they own a lot of different things Gatorade being one of them," said intern LaZerick Strong. "I wasn’t aware of that. I’m an athlete and I love drinking Gatorade to stay hydrated."

Strong is going into his Junior year at Northern Illinois University. He eventually wants to work in the front office of an NBA team. His experience this summer taught him the importance of networking, how sales is a part of every company and the process of mergers and acquisitions.

"This is a great building block for me to get to my next level," Strong said. "Ultimately, I’m trying to use every experience to help me grow. This is one of those building blocks."

For students who are interested in more of a blue-collar career path, they received support to get their CDL. 

All the interns were paid this summer. One of the best parts of this program is what they call a Reverse Mentorship, where the mentors learn from the diverse experiences of their mentees. 

"They taught me how to be patient," said PepsiCo mentor Melvin Boahene. "This is our future. Some of these young folks in this internship program could be leading our organization at some point. For us, it’s a good way of finding young talent."

Both PepsiCo and Chicago Cares are planning to use this program as a guide for community-based paid internships. They’re looking for businesses both big and small to join them, so that this positive impact can be scaled across different areas of Chicago.