Breann Shook ’02 Teaches Old Dogs New Tricks with Grandma Lucy’s Healthy Pet Food

For Breann Shook ’02, it all begun with an 11-year-aged English Cocker Spaniel named Lucy. When Lucy made food items allergies in the late 1990s, Shook – then a business enterprise administration key at Chapman University – established out on a quest to discover healthy and delicious food options for her picky pet. She finished up founding her possess all-all-natural pet food stuff enterprise, Grandma Lucy’s, though she was even now an undergrad.

Two a long time later, Shook has been honored by the Orange County Enterprise Journal with the 2022 JPMorgan Chase & Co. “Women on the Move” Award. 

“Our firm has viewed double-digit advancement every single yr considering the fact that we started, nevertheless we still have so several prospects to carry even far more pets globally healthier foodstuff,” states Shook. “I glance ahead to continuing to mature our firm while setting up our new non-earnings, Challenge Pet RAK, that raises money to help guidance services and remedy canines and their people today.”

The nonprofit is a passion undertaking for Shook, started with her daughter, Alex, who hopes to go to Chapman upcoming fall. 

“Our middle son has autism so we have found first hand the freedoms these incredible animals can give to their man or woman,” says Shook.

We asked her to share some of her favored memories from Chapman.

Who was the most influential human being for you at Chapman and why?

Though I under no circumstances was ready to satisfy him in man or woman, I heard Dr. Doti discuss lots of occasions and I generally cherished hearing about all of the astounding issues he was carrying out to grow Chapman. 

If you could go again in time and expertise a single moment again at Chapman, what would it be? Would you do something otherwise?

In 1 of my lessons, we ended up equipped to function with a woman who was beginning a company that manufactured stickers to mark children’s items this kind of as their jackets, lunchboxes, and so on. I cherished aiding her develop a stable business enterprise system as I understood how attempting it can be as an entrepreneur setting up your own organization from scratch.

What do you want you understood at the time you graduated that you know now? What guidance can you give to pupils or new grads of now?

Considering the fact that I was building Grandma Lucy’s during my time at Chapman, I was not ready to do an internship but I would have beloved to. I was fortunate to be capable to implement what I was discovering and I believe that it is so essential for college students to do the exact same. Coming out of school with a diploma AND operate working experience is so useful in providing them a leg up in a extremely aggressive task marketplace. It is also a great time to try unique types of employment and work environments to see what you like ideal. This is why we are doing the job with Chapman to generate a university internship software at Grandma Lucy’s for 2023.

How did Chapman prepare you for your job? For life? How did your practical experience at Chapman get ready you for the actual earth?

I am grateful to all of the Chapman business enterprise professors for their real-globe instructing. What I indicate by this is, so lots of instances I listen to from workforce or colleagues that they definitely do not use what they realized in higher education. They felt that what they discovered was out of date and was not conveniently utilized to the constantly altering company entire world. My Chapman professors would apply what we were being mastering to present corporations and train about new procedures rising in the marketplaces. It was so practical and also taught me to be aware of individuals developments.

Do you have any other words and phrases of wisdom for students and new grads of Chapman College?

Chapman is also so intertwined in the Orange County business enterprise community which is particularly what attracted my daughter to Chapman. Orange County is a hub for all styles of companies and the options Chapman has designed for their pupils to be a part of it all provides them experiences you simply cannot uncover in many universities. Have so a great deal enjoyable whilst at Chapman and get gain of all of the systems and opportunities they have established for their students. Not only will it all produce lifelong reminiscences, individuals encounters will enable you strike the floor working when you graduate.