Breann Shook ’02 Teaches Old Dogs New Tricks with Grandma Lucy’s Healthy Pet Food
For Breann Shook ’02, it all started with an 11-year-old English Cocker Spaniel named Lucy. When Lucy created food stuff allergy symptoms in the late 1990s, Shook – then a small business administration important at Chapman University – set out on a quest to come across nutritious and tasty foods alternatives for her picky pet. She finished up founding her very own all-organic pet meals enterprise, Grandma Lucy’s, while she was however an undergrad.
Two a long time later, Shook has been honored by the Orange County Enterprise Journal with the 2022 JPMorgan Chase & Co. “Women on the Move” Award.
“Our enterprise has noticed double-digit progress every calendar year considering that we began, but we even now have so quite a few prospects to deliver even more pets around the world balanced foodstuff,” says Shook. “I glimpse forward to continuing to increase our company although beginning our new non-profit, Undertaking Pet RAK, that raises revenue to assist assist services and remedy canines and their individuals.”
The nonprofit is a passion job for Shook, started with her daughter, Alex, who hopes to go to Chapman up coming tumble.
“Our middle son has autism so we have witnessed initial hand the freedoms these wonderful animals can give to their particular person,” suggests Shook.
We questioned her to share some of her beloved reminiscences from Chapman.
Who was the most influential person for you at Chapman and why?
Though I never was ready to fulfill him in man or woman, I read Dr. Doti communicate a lot of instances and I constantly loved listening to about all of the wonderful points he was executing to mature Chapman.
If you could go again in time and expertise one particular instant again at Chapman, what would it be? Would you do everything in another way?
In one particular of my classes, we had been capable to get the job done with a woman who was starting off a firm that produced stickers to mark children’s objects these as their jackets, lunchboxes, and many others. I loved encouraging her build a good enterprise system as I understood how trying it can be as an entrepreneur starting off your very own company from scratch.
What do you desire you knew at the time you graduated that you know now? What suggestions can you give to learners or new grads of currently?
Given that I was creating Grandma Lucy’s all through my time at Chapman, I was not capable to do an internship but I would have loved to. I was lucky to be in a position to apply what I was studying and I believe it is so crucial for higher education pupils to do the similar. Coming out of college with a diploma AND do the job encounter is so worthwhile in offering them a leg up in a extremely competitive career sector. It is also a wonderful time to try distinct styles of positions and function environments to see what you like best. This is why we are doing the job with Chapman to build a college internship system at Grandma Lucy’s for 2023.
How did Chapman put together you for your profession? For lifetime? How did your working experience at Chapman get ready you for the genuine world?
I am grateful to all of the Chapman business enterprise professors for their actual-environment instructing. What I necessarily mean by this is, so quite a few situations I listen to from workforce or colleagues that they definitely do not use what they acquired in university. They felt that what they uncovered was out of day and was not simply used to the frequently switching business enterprise planet. My Chapman professors would use what we have been learning to existing organizations and train about new techniques emerging in the markets. It was so handy and also taught me to be mindful of individuals developments.
Do you have any other words and phrases of knowledge for college students and new grads of Chapman College?
Chapman is also so intertwined in the Orange County organization local community which is particularly what attracted my daughter to Chapman. Orange County is a hub for all styles of firms and the options Chapman has designed for their students to be a section of it all presents them encounters you simply cannot locate in numerous universities. Have so considerably enjoyment though at Chapman and acquire benefit of all of the packages and alternatives they have developed for their students. Not only will it all produce lifelong reminiscences, individuals experiences will help you hit the ground managing when you graduate.
