Alumni Spotlight

Name: Patricia Rodriguez McCutcheon

Current Title: Senior Vice President Human Resources Executive

Organization: Bank of America

Major: B.S. Agribusiness (2007), M.S. Business Administration (2009)

 

K-State College of Ag is proud to recognize alumni from all departments who continue to pursue their passion in their respective fields. It is through experience that we continue to grow as individuals and stewards of the industry. Through those experiences, we hope to be a continued resource for the next generation of K-State students to lean on for advice and continue to build our network!

What stands out most about your involvement in organizations on campus?

I came in as a transfer student and had been active at my community college. I wanted to bring that same energy to a four-year university. I was involved in MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences), Blue Key, and also served as a multicultural ambassador. I was also involved with HALO, the Hispanic American Leadership Organization, and had the opportunity to serve as HALO president for one year.

When you join organizations, you have the opportunity to work with students from all walks of life. One of my favorite responsibilities was giving tours on campus. As a first-generation Mexican American college student at the College of Agriculture, I know there weren't that many of us at the time.

I was very proud to provide tours for parents and prospective students around the university and use my Spanish skills, which set me apart from some of my peers. We had some parents who didn't know English, so leveraging my heritage and communicating in their native language was really comforting to them. It helps them feel like they have a connection, and they can then see their kid gaining similar experiences. It gives me chills just thinking back on how impactful those experiences were for me and the parents of prospective students.

I never took any of those organizations for granted because I knew that they were going to be so helpful in shaping me to create skills beyond what you would get in the regular classroom settings.

Was there ever a pivot in your career that was unexpected? What did you learn?

I was at a Fortune 500 company and wanted to diversify my work experience portfolio, so I shifted gears and went to a smaller startup, maybe with a hundred employees. As previously mentioned, I had been working for a much larger company that had very structured processes in place at the time. I came into the smaller startup company as a subject matter expert, if you will, from an Human Resources standpoint.

I wanted to create processes typically done in larger organizations and adapt those in a smaller organization to match their scale. When you work for a privately owned business, sometimes they may not entirely be ready for everything you do in "big corporate America." Attempting to implement various processes with a smaller organization was surprising to me because I thought I was going to hit the ground running and implement practices to standardize what things should look like across the company, like merit increases, for example.

When that wasn't the case, I had to take a step back and consider whether the organization was ready to implement the practices I was used to.

It opened my mind to the notion of wearing different hats because it was a much smaller company. One day, I was working in the warehouse and wearing an operations hat. The next day, I was in my Human Resources role in the office, helping with research.

It created a mindset of flexibility in accepting that my role may not always be exactly what I thought I signed up for, but that would be okay. I learned a lot from the experience and I still reach into my toolbox from those years.

How can students stand out during an interview with prospective employers?

Authenticity is so important to me. It can take you a long way and open so many doors. That said, it’s essential not to sacrifice professionalism for authenticity. One area during this time in our lives, after COVID-19, that we need to remind ourselves of is being flexible. Remembering to always be professional and respectful is very important.

Sometimes, younger generations don’t grasp the power of networking and connection.

The pandemic changed the landscape of the work environment. Many students think they will land a job right out of college that is one hundred percent remote because it’s convenient. As an Human Resources professional, I will tell you there’s so much power in face-to-face conversations. I would encourage everyone, even on a hybrid schedule, to ensure you go into the office and make those connections. Whatever it is for you to have face time with your colleagues, clients, and peers, or meeting new people on your floor, will serve you well in the long run.

What advice would you give your college self?

A supervisor gave me advice after my second promotion at my first corporate job. He said, “There’s no one else like you.”

Many of us believe, “If you can see her, you can be her.” A beautiful aspect of this is wanting to achieve similar notoriety, status, or recognition as someone else. But we should never forget that there is no one else like us.

I would remind myself that we are all unique and we each have something so special to offer. Whether at home, at work, or in a group setting, always remember to stay true to who you really are because authenticity takes you much further than anything else in life.