Yum! Brands Internship: Jasmine Shepherd

We would like to thank our corporate partner, Yum! Our students benefit greatly from there support. Jasmine Shepherd was grateful to tell her story about her internship with Yum! Brands.

When I first moved to Louisville five years ago, I applied for positions at Yum! every so often, but nothing would stick. Last fall, I attended UofL’s FTMBA program, knowing about their corporate partnership with many great companies in the area. This was another way into Yum! and I set my sights on finding an internship there. 

I applied for two internships through the UofL program at Yum! but did not hear anything back for some time. Undeterred, I met with Yum! Recruiters at the College of Business career fair and expressed my passion for HR and diversity, equity, and inclusion. After interviewing with leaders across HR and EIB (Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) in Yum!, I was thrilled to be offered a summer paid EIB internship. My first intern assignment entailed designing and piloting Yum!’s first virtual career fair. With collaboration from many departments and the restaurant brands, the event exceeded expectations with over 1,000 registrants and 250 resumes collected! 

Yum!’s culture is personal and welcoming – nothing like I’ve experienced before since being in the workforce. I’ve gained incredible first-hand career advice from Team members, Directors, and Chief Officers. Yum! allows me to use my current talents while providing coaching for me to develop new ones. With tried-and-true values, thriving in an encouraging environment empowers me to pilot innovative programs like the virtual career fair. Yum! has provided incredible opportunities to grow on this unexpected and rewarding career path. My advice – if you want something, do not accept the first no, nor the second. Take as many steps as it takes to achieve it.

Jasmine Shepherd