The COVID pandemic—a good disruption?

Grace Zuncic ’05, chief people and culture officer at Chobani, opened the semester’s Conversation with a Leader series, sharing wisdom and advice to students by giving a summary of her career journey and lessons learned along the way.

Zuncic began the conversation by talking about the world that was being dominated by COVID, and drew a parallel to the events of September 11, 2001, when she was a freshman on campus. September 11 was a moment in history that changed our lives, and Zuncic recalled the feeling of love and care in the BC community during that dark period, and how in the aftermath of the tragedy people in America and around the world became more resilient.

Resiliency—something that we are seeing today as we deal with life, school, and work during the pandemic. Zuncic told the students not to despair and not to get caught up in the loneliness. Quoting Chobani’s founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya, “Let’s not just survive, let’s transform,” she told students to let this disruption be a positive experience for them—use this time to do that something that they’ve always wanted to do, take up a new sport or hobby, or take classes that are interesting and fun. Giving the example of a sophomore who is doing work for NASA from his dorm room, she also encouraged students to seek internships or co-ops at companies in far-flung places, which is very possible now as companies adopt more remote-friendly work operations. Zuncic said that companies are embracing this disruption, realizing that it is not necessary to be in an office from 9–5, and so they are rewriting policies that account for a more flexible work environment. And the ability to work remotely also opens up a wider global talent pool.

In a climate where social justice issues matter to most people, Zuncic credited her BC formation for shaping many of her moral and ethical values. She said that she left BC with a moral obligation to seek employment in a mission-driven organization that has a purpose and does good work for the benefit of society. She said she initially thought that organizations like this were only in the nonprofit world, but has since learned that they also exist in the for-profit arena. Companies like Chobani, that put people first. She described their work with refugee organizations, allowing them to employ people from Eastern Europe and Asia.

As a chief people and culture officer, Zuncic also draws on her experiences at BC that help her to do her job better. She told students that they are going into a business world where diversity and inclusion initiatives are at the top of many organizations’ missions. She said she was raised in a very homogenous community in a rural area of upstate New York, and that coming to BC expanded her interactions with people from other parts of the country and the world. She sought out these friendships, and has been able to learn and understand the stories of people of color through them. This has allowed Zuncic to be a better and more informed human resources policy writer at Chobani. She said that while it’s great to be at a company that has had a diverse and inclusive mission all along, it is also an exciting time to be at companies that are in the process of transforming. She told students that they are the emerging experts in social justice initiatives and that their voices will be valued in such companies.

Zuncic ended by telling students that it is okay to try lots of hats on their journeys in discovering their purpose and the work that will bring them joy.