Willa Neale - Nominee for Rising Star Award

Willa Neale is the University Relations Program Lead at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. In her role at Goodyear, Willa is responsible for managing the interns and co-ops while on site, serving as their HR partner, and helps to facilitate their transition to the corporate environment. Prior to her role at Goodyear, Willa worked as a Coordinator of Career Services at The University of Akron. The thing that Willa enjoys most about her role is connecting with students and helping them achieve their goals.

Career Highlight

Willa Neale took the challenges presented by COVID-19 and turned them into an opportunity to connect students in new ways. In prior years, much of the programming offered to students was only offered in person and was limited to those in corporate headquarters. For summer 2021, Willa has reinvented program offerings so that they are now accessible in a virtual format to accommodate remote interns and those based in Goodyear’s various manufacturing locations across the country. She has also worked to ensure that COVID-19 testing and vaccinations are accessible to students.