Kayla McDonell ‘12 prides herself on working hard and learning the most she can from every job and opportunity. And her bosses at General Motors (GM) took notice.

Forbes Magazine also saw McDonell’s potential when she was recently included in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Class of 2017.

“The recognition was very unexpected. I was at work when I opened the email saying I was chosen. My boss said he could hear me squeal with excitement. I was so excited and shocked. I couldn’t believe that someone saw so much potential in me,” said McDonell, Exterior Lighting Design Release Engineer at General Motors.

“I’ve always wanted to make a difference in the industry and contribute to the company I work for but I never in a million years thought GM would nominate me for something like this. Honored is a major understatement. For Forbes to also see my potential is unbelievable.”

McDonell, a Mechanical Engineering major at Kettering, was recognized for her work on the Chevrolet Cruze. She worked with designers, suppliers and factories worldwide on 46 separate lighting parts to meet quality, function and safety regulations in multiple countries.

“When I was working on the Cruze, every day I was on the phone with individuals all over the world to make things work,” McDonell said. “It’s exciting. I’m not always at my desk, I’m walking plant floors, visiting the Milford Proving Grounds or working with individuals. You learn so much from it.”

McDonell has been with GM since the fall of 2014. It’s a move McDonell said she is so happy she took a risk on.

While at Kettering McDonell had a co-op at an architectural firm and a product design company, but when graduation approached she had six job offers to consider. She first took a job with Calsonic Kansei, a Japanese company where she worked on cockpit modules for Nissan. After a year she moved to a different position at Mubea, where she worked on suspension components for foreign and domestic OEMs.

But she knew she wanted more of a challenge.

“I knew I didn’t want to be one of those employees that just gets by. I knew I wanted to be engaged with my company and make a difference,” McDonell said.

She was contacted about a contract exterior lighting design release engineering position at GM, but she was nervous about taking a contract position. The interview, however, energized McDonell and made her excited to work for the company and in that position. After a little thought, she decided to take a risk and accept the position.

Two weeks later she was offered a permanent position at GM.

“I decided to take a risk on myself and prove myself to GM quickly,” McDonell said, adding that it was a decision she never regrets.

McDonell doesn’t have plans of slowing down anytime soon. She wants to continue learning all she can and contributing where she can.

“I always say I want to be the next Mary Barra. I don’t say that as I want to be the next CEO of General Motors. I want to be an inspiring leader that makes a difference in the industry,” she said. “For now, I love my position. But my ultimate goal is to be a people leader while still using my technical knowledge. I want to lead and inspire others but I still want to use my engineering background because that’s where my passion is.”

Finding her passion

Engineering wasn’t always McDonell’s passion. Most of her life she wanted to be an author and even won multiple awards in high school for her writing, but she still wasn’t sure what she wanted to do as a career.

When she took a test her sophomore year of high school telling her what career she should choose, the number one choice was an engineer followed by an auditor.

“I didn’t know what an engineer was so I skipped right over it and picked auditor because it sounded cool,” she admitted. “I did a job shadow and it wasn’t nearly as exciting as I thought.”

During her junior year of high school, she received a flyer from Kettering about Society of Women Engineers (SWE) hosting a weekend at the university for high school women.

With a little persistence from her father, McDonell decided to check it out. Being from Davison, the university was close and a weekend at college sounded fun, she admitted.

“I loved the campus. Everyone was friendly and the women at SWE were very inviting,” she said. “But it was a life changing moment when we went to a class with Dan Van Cura and he did sand casting with us. I thought watching the process was amazing and understanding how excited I was about it I knew I had to be an engineer.”

In the end Kettering was the only school McDonell applied to. The co-op experience with the opportunity to get real world experience and have a change of pace and scenery every few months was very appealing to her.

McDonell learned a lot from her time at Kettering University.

“Kettering was a huge period of growth for me as a person. When I came to Kettering I thought I could skate by like middle school and high school. But I soon found out it requires a lot of work,” she said. “However, I learned that hard work pays off. I graduated with an outstanding thesis award. I learned that putting in the hard work makes a huge difference. If you put in the time and let people know that you are there to learn from them it makes a huge difference.”

Networking was another lesson she took away from her time at Kettering. So many of the people that helped her through her time at the university are still contacts, friends and support systems today.

“You make lifelong relationships that you have through the rest of your life,” she said, adding her advice to Kettering students. “Try something new. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Take that risk on yourself. I had confidence in myself and my abilities and it worked out in the end. The opportunities are endless with engineering. It’s incredible.”