For Breann Shook ’02, it all began with an 11-year-old English Cocker Spaniel named Lucy. When Lucy developed food allergic reactions in the late 1990s, Shook – then a enterprise administration key at Chapman University – established out on a quest to uncover healthy and delicious meals possibilities for her picky pet. She ended up founding her possess all-all-natural pet foods firm, Grandma Lucy’s, although she was even now an undergrad.
Two a long time later, Shook has been honored by the Orange County Small business Journal with the 2022 JPMorgan Chase & Co. “Women on the Move” Award.
“Our enterprise has witnessed double-digit growth just about every calendar year given that we begun, nonetheless we nevertheless have so numerous alternatives to deliver even far more pets worldwide healthful food items,” states Shook. “I appear forward to continuing to increase our corporation although starting our new non-gain, Venture Pet RAK, that raises funds to enable aid company and remedy puppies and their persons.”
The nonprofit is a passion venture for Shook, started out with her daughter, Alex, who hopes to go to Chapman upcoming tumble.
“Our center son has autism so we have seen initially hand the freedoms these remarkable animals can give to their person,” suggests Shook.
We questioned her to share some of her most loved memories from Chapman.
Who was the most influential man or woman for you at Chapman and why?
While I never was able to fulfill him in particular person, I heard Dr. Doti communicate many moments and I normally loved hearing about all of the wonderful matters he was executing to improve Chapman.
If you could go back in time and encounter one moment once again at Chapman, what would it be? Would you do nearly anything in different ways?
In a single of my courses, we have been capable to function with a female who was starting off a enterprise that designed stickers to mark children’s goods this kind of as their jackets, lunchboxes, and many others. I cherished helping her generate a strong enterprise approach as I realized how making an attempt it can be as an entrepreneur starting off your personal enterprise from scratch.
What do you desire you realized at the time you graduated that you know now? What assistance can you give to students or new grads of these days?
Because I was making Grandma Lucy’s for the duration of my time at Chapman, I was not capable to do an internship but I would have liked to. I was fortunate to be equipped to implement what I was understanding and I feel it is so important for university college students to do the exact same. Coming out of university with a diploma AND operate working experience is so precious in offering them a leg up in a hugely competitive task current market. It is also a great time to attempt unique varieties of jobs and perform environments to see what you like very best. This is why we are doing the job with Chapman to generate a college or university internship software at Grandma Lucy’s for 2023.
How did Chapman prepare you for your vocation? For daily life? How did your working experience at Chapman prepare you for the true entire world?
I am grateful to all of the Chapman small business professors for their real-earth instructing. What I imply by this is, so many moments I hear from staff or colleagues that they seriously do not use what they figured out in university. They felt that what they figured out was out of date and was not conveniently utilized to the continually changing enterprise environment. My Chapman professors would use what we ended up learning to present-day enterprises and train about new techniques emerging in the marketplaces. It was so valuable and also taught me to be conscious of these trends.
Do you have any other words of knowledge for students and new grads of Chapman College?
Chapman is also so intertwined in the Orange County business local community which is accurately what attracted my daughter to Chapman. Orange County is a hub for all types of companies and the possibilities Chapman has produced for their students to be a element of it all presents them activities you are unable to obtain in several universities. Have so much entertaining although at Chapman and consider gain of all of the packages and options they have produced for their college students. Not only will it all make lifelong memories, those activities will assist you hit the floor functioning when you graduate.