Here’s a quick glimpse into Katy’s journey to career success!
Name: Katy Schuster, Class of 2026, Graduating Early in December
Hometown: Woodstock, Georgia
Major: Business Administration, minor in Marketing
Internship plans: Katy Schuster, served as a Marketing Intern at Pentair in Charlotte, North Carolina. During the 12-week internship she helped drive the launch of Pentair Pool’s national partnership with the National Drowning Prevention Alliance by developing digital landing pages, producing an educational webinar and managing cross-platform email and PR strategies. Katy embedded these water safety resources across company functions, collaborating with sales, training, digital, design, content and product management teams. She also completed 56 coffee chats and earned 12 AI and marketing certifications.
How HPU helped you get there:
“High Point’s strong emphasis on campus involvement pushed me to step into leadership roles early on. The hands-on experience and transferable skills I gained through these campus positions directly contributed to securing my summer marketing internship and succeeding within the role.”
How did you use the Office of Career & Professional Development?:
“My growth at High Point University has been shaped by both active involvement and structured support. The Office of Career & Professional Development guided me through my internship search, helping me scout opportunities, refine my resume and optimize my LinkedIn. Attending HPU in the City twice built my professional confidence and networking skills. Paired with the leadership roles I took on across campus, HPU provided the exact foundation I needed to land my summer internship at Pentair and excel.”
What has your internship experience been like?:
“This summer, I had the privilege of spending twelve weeks as a Marketing Intern at Pentair. As I wrap up my time here, I’ve been reflecting on a summer defined by immense growth, incredible mentorship and more learning than I thought possible in three months. The highlight of my internship was helping launch Pentair Pool’s partnership with the National Drowning Prevention Alliance. Contributing to this mission was extremely impactful. Working alongside an amazing team, I co-built dedicated landing pages for homeowners and pool professionals to centralize NDPA’s drowning prevention resources, coordinated, filmed and produced an educational webinar featured on both the NDPA landing page and Pentair’s website, developed an email nurture strategy and coordinated press releases and cross-platform social media collaborations. Beyond the launch, I collaborated with our digital, content and design teams on the initial rollout. My goal was to embed this partnership across the business. I collaborated with sales to incorporate NDPA materials into dealer packets, partnered with Pentair University to integrate resources into our LMS and trainings, worked with corporate communications to socialize the initiative internally and aligned with product management to identify where we could integrate resources into the Pentair Pool app. Alongside my project, I conducted 56 coffee chats with leaders across the organization, earned 12 LinkedIn Learning certifications in AI and marketing strategy and attended the ANA B2B Marketing Conference and two three-hour ANA workshops. I also had the opportunity to volunteer with the Special Olympics. Working with the athletes was one of the most meaningful experiences of my summer and reinforced the importance of inclusion, community and servant leadership.”
Most impactful moment at HPU:
“When I look back at my time at High Point University, my most impactful moment isn’t just one single event. It’s been the entire journey and the string of experiences along the way. I’ve met the most incredible people who have constantly pushed me to grow both personally and professionally. Opportunities like HPU in the City and working at The Masters provided unmatched, real-world growth that I truly couldn’t have gotten anywhere else.”
Advice for underclassmen:
“If I could give two pieces of advice to underclassmen, it would be this. First, curate your inner circle intentionally. Surround yourself with people who encourage you, push you and hold you accountable. The people you spend time with directly shape who you become, and having a support system that drives you to be your best self will carry you far in life. Second, be bold. 99% of the time, simply having the confidence to put yourself out there will unlock incredible opportunities you wouldn’t have found otherwise. During my internship at Pentair, I made it my goal to be as bold as possible when connecting with leaders, which led to having coffee chats with executives all throughout the business. Don’t be afraid to take up space and ask for the opportunity!”
Are you an HPU graduate with exciting news to share?
Share your news with us for a chance to be featured!