UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — One good internship can offer countless growth opportunities.
For Penn State student Michael Loucas, of Westport, Connecticut, one summer as a sales management intern with PepsiCo offered him his best opportunity for growth so far.
“I learned an incredible amount last summer, but I know it’s only the tip of the iceberg,” Loucas said. “I will return to PepsiCo as a sales management intern this summer. This will allow me to continue to build on customer relationships in the southern New England market as well as relationships with members of the sales team out of the Stratford, Connecticut, office.”
Loucas, a junior in the College of Agricultural Sciences, is pursuing a major in agribusiness management with a minor in entrepreneurship and innovation. As a sales management intern, Loucas gained a deeper understanding of how a global giant like PepsiCo does business.
“I got to see many of the different roles at PepsiCo,” he said. “I enjoyed the internship overall because I met and worked alongside great people. No two days were the same — it was a perfect balance between office and field work.”
Part of the internship involved learning about PepsiCo’s process of getting products from its production facilities to the end consumer. Loucas said he and his fellow interns toured a PepsiCo production facility in Cranston, Rhode Island, and visited PepsiCo headquarters in Purchase, New York.
“I watched how products are formulated and saw the supply chain functioning with my own eyes,” he said. “From there, the product is transported to distribution centers where it is stored and eventually loaded on trucks.”
Loucas also spent a day shadowing a PepsiCo truck driver. He explained that PepsiCo specializes in direct store delivery, which differs from centralized distribution as it bypasses retailers’ distribution centers and gives PepsiCo more control over its products’ presentation.
He added that competition for market share, or the percent of total sales a particular company generates in an industry, is so intense that factors such as quality of merchandising and even placement can be deciding factors for sales.
To get hands-on experience with the sales side of the company, Loucas shadowed presale account managers and sales district leads.
“It was through shadowing these two roles that I learned the difference between small and large format accounts and how PepsiCo approaches these differently,” Loucas said. “I also learned specific selling techniques directly from the unit manager.”
Patrick Niebler, Loucas’ supervisor and a sales district leader at PepsiCo, said the top traits he looks for in sales and supply chain interns are a good work ethic, strong communication skills and the ability to be a team player.
“Mike jumped right in,” Niebler said. “He did a good job of learning on the fly and soaking up everything he could. His great attitude and willingness to give every task his best effort set him apart from the rest of the group. We’re looking forward to having him back in the summer and hopefully getting him on full-time after graduation.”
For students looking for similar experiences, Loucas recommends visiting University-hosted career fairs and the Nittany Lion Careers website. Information about opportunities available to students in the college also can be obtained by contacting Lori Connelly, director of experiential learning and career services, at llc143@psu.edu.
“I’m grateful to be a student at Penn State,” Loucas said. “In my first two years, I gained valuable knowledge and experience directly supporting this opportunity at PepsiCo.”