Business & Administrative


  • breanne headshot

    Breanne Geary

    Manager, Sports and Events

    I’ve always had a passion for sports. When I got to high school, I realized I wasn’t going to play professionally but decided I still wanted to work in the industry. For the rest of high school and through my first year of college, I pursued sports nutrition. But my sophomore year of college, my…

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  • dustin headshot

    Dustin Shellito

    Manager, Pioneer Nutrition

    After 13 years in law enforcement, I was ready to change my profession to a role without on-call duties in the middle of the night.

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  • brandy headshot

    Brandy Sayre

    Court Reporter

    Growing up, I wanted to be a physician. After graduating from high school, I started working for a court reporting firm editing transcripts. I did that while I was in college, and I decided what I really wanted to do was to be a court reporter.Court reporters are trained professionals who capture…

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  • Aaron Collins

    Owner, Aaron’s Lawn Care

    I was chatting with my barber when I first learned about the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (YEC). I had been describing my lawn care business when he told me I should consider competing in YEC, a competition for students interested in entrepreneurship. In March 2020, when school was closed, I…

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  • Lindsey Beltz

    Owner, LB.Leather

    I started working with leather in second grade through my involvement with 4-H. At first, I didn’t share my products with anyone, but when I was in middle school, I started to sell earrings and custom belts. Eventually, this turned into a full-blown business: LB.Leather.

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  • Anne Smoke

    Land Surveyor

    When I was younger, I thought I’d grow up to be a veterinarian because I love being around animals. Unfortunately, I don’t deal well with blood, so that didn’t work out! Luckily, I found my way into a career I love.

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  • John Kugler

    Dog Trainer and President, Bug Hounds LLC

    After I realized becoming a professional baseball player just wasn’t in the cards, I considered being a teacher because I love helping others. But my career path took a few turns before I found myself educating people — and it turned out not to be in a classroom.

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  • Shawn Dryden

    Web Developer

    I’ve had a talent for drawing from a very young age, and everyone who saw that told me I should be an architect. When some cousins who were also good at drawing went into graphic design, I started looking into that and it seemed like the perfect job.

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  • Michael Hidalgo

    Personal Banker

    I started to consider working at a bank shortly after graduating from high school in Topeka. I wanted to build up my resume and get experience in a professional setting. Plus, a friend had worked at a bank and told me they’d learned a lot of valuable skills there. 

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  • Kaitlynn Bachman

    Human Resources Business Partner

    Before starting my career, I thought about studying law or psychology. I was intrigued by rules, laws and consequences. Plus, communication is a strength of mine, and I’m always trying to figure people out or understand the deeper meaning behind certain situations. Human resources ended up being…

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