Frito-Lay meet with USM students for business project work

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Frito-Lay company met with USM students to exercise market project building and networking Monday in Scianna Hall.

“Whenever we go back to do interviews, we reach out to the professors. And say who’s a good candidate, anything like that and so they’re our insiders,” said USM Alumni and Frito-Lay District Sales Leader, Jamil Murray.

Company representatives wanted to bring a sense of the real world into the classroom.

"We have a very applied focus in my classes, so right now they’re doing a project for one of their potato chips and developing a marketing plan for it, so they’ll actually be addressing questions and concerns from the students about the project they’re doing and the grade they’re going to get,” said USM Marketing Professor, Chris Balaski.

Murray shared how he landed his first job, after attending the school's career fair.

“They said, we’ll put you down for an interview slot. And I wind up being the only one offered the internship. So that’s how I came on to Frito-Lay. I did an intern project. I thought I was going to get a lot of busy work, thought I was going to get a lot of coffee and I thought I was going to do a lot of running around. But, I ran a ten to fifteen thousand dollar business as an intern and I end up generating about ninety six thousand dollars in two months for Frito-Lay. So I guess they like it and they brought me on board,” said Murray.

Balaski said it is more than beneficial to have alumni and companies like Frito-Lay come into the classroom and shape career reality for current students.

“For the guest from Frito-Lay to say things that we say in the classroom and adds credibility to [their work], it’s very important. But what I want them to see, is that the world is very big and that the opportunities there are endless,” said Balaski.