Chenoweth Lab
Alumni

Food Science Alumni Return to UMass for PepsiCo Recruiting Event

UMass food science alumni Brooke Pearson, speaking, and Thaddao Ogren, who both work for PepsiCo, address a group of food science students in the Chenoweth pilot plant at an internship recruiting event on Sept. 30, 2024
UMass food science alumni Brooke Pearson, speaking, and Thaddao Ogren, who both work for PepsiCo, address a group of food science students in the Chenoweth pilot plant at an internship recruiting event on Sept. 30, 2024.

A group of UMass food science alumni returned to campus recently as part of a hiring team from PepsiCo that held a two-day event to meet and recruit food science students for their summer 2025 internship program.

More than 80 students attended the different offerings, which included an information session about PepsiCo’s internship opportunities and a workshop on virtual interviewing and resume-building skills.

The event was a collaboration between PepsiCo’s internship hiring team, the majority of whom were UMass food science graduates, and the UMass Food Science Internship Committee, made up of three UMass food science alumnae: Charmaine Koo, lecturer; sensory scientist Alissa Nolden, an assistant professor; and Amanda Kinchla, extension associate professor who focuses on product development among her areas of research.

The UMass grads-turned recruiters now working for PepsiCo in Valhalla, N.Y., are Brooke Pearson, an R&D manager who earned her M.S. in food science; Thaddao Ogren, a senior manager who earned her doctorate in food science; and Thananunt Rojanasasithara, an R&D senior principal scientist and UMass doctoral graduate who also worked at UMass as a post-doc in food science.

“There’s a special relationship between our alumni and the food industry and we hope to attract more food companies to come to UMass for recruiting events and classroom engagements,” says Koo.