At 3M, we work to reflect the diversity of our global customers, suppliers and channel partners, and build on each employee’s abilities and backgrounds. It’s one of the reasons 3Mers feel connected to the company and love working here. And those closest to them have noticed.

Evelyn Padilla, design content supervisor in 3M’s Design Center, loved that when she started at 3M she felt like she could come in and use her past experiences to bring in new ideas. And her best friend, Poeuth, took note. Hear what he has to say about Evelyn’s life experiences being valued at 3M:

More About Evelyn’s Life Experiences and Her 3M Career

At the start of her 3M career four and a half years ago, Evelyn brought in years of past experience, but it wasn’t all in communications. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, then worked in the nonprofit sector with some of the most vulnerable populations. “Social work taught me to practice empathy and apply it to the work that I did as a case manager,” she says. “I also learned how to think like a customer and study how social trends affect how we communicate.” After four years in social work, Evelyn decided to follow her passion for communications and earn a Master’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern California. When she graduated, she began her communications career doing social media and executive communications at the University of California, Davis.

Then she made the trek to Minnesota to start her career with 3M at its headquarters. “I went into social work initially because I wanted to do something that made a difference. I went back to school for my journalism degree because I wanted to be a voice for the voiceless. At 3M, we look at how we can solve real-world problems for our customers, so in a sense, we have to be sensitive to their individual needs in order to come up with a solution that will make an impact on their lives. I think I bring unique insight to the company given my social work background.”

Evelyn recalls a story assignment where she was asked to highlight 3M’s female scientists and engineers. Rather than just highlighting their careers like they had done in the past, Evelyn asked if she could take it a step further and showcase their interests outside of work too. “It’s extremely important to note that while we do work at a company made up of some of the most brilliant people in the world, at the end of the day, we are all just people and we have our own hobbies and interests that make us who we are.”

Her manager supported the idea, and Evelyn chose to highlight a scientist who was an amazing aerial dancer and baker outside of work. “We ended up executing the piece and then everyone learned how awesome and strong this scientist was. That was my whole intent. I wanted to show that scientists are human and have dynamic backgrounds, too, especially to the future workforce.”

Interested in a career at 3M? Learn more about working here by visiting 3m.com/careers.