September 24, 2025 • 19 mins
Not every engineer starts with a textbook. Some start with a wrench.
In this episode of Power Onward, Kim talks with Taylor about what it means to build a career from hands-on experience. Taylor shares how she went from managing an oil change shop to leading a 25-person test engineering team at Cummins. Through stories from the garage to the test cell, she shows how confidence and capability grow when curiosity leads the way.
Hear how Taylor’s real-world perspective shapes how Cummins validates engine performance, supports team development, and contributes to a more inclusive workplace.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How hands-on experience builds a strong foundation in engineering
- What engine testing looks like behind the scenes at Cummins
- How leadership and mentorship go hand-in-hand in technical environments
Additional Resources
- Cummins powers women
- Indiana Native Plants
- SIU Automotive Technology Program
- Cummins: Social responsibility
- Cummins: Corporate responsibility
Interested in learning more? Subscribe to the [3-minute Power Up] to get breakthrough stories and the latest innovations in power technology delivered straight to your inbox: https://www.cummins.com/news/podcast#subscribe
Dive into the conversation:
(00:00) This is Power Onward
(00:33) From oil changes to Cummins: how it all began
(02:34) Learning to trust her value in engineering spaces
(05:38) Navigating challenges as a woman in engineering
(08:14) How Cummins and gardening shaped Taylor’s purpose
(11:36) A deeper look at community, belonging, and leadership
(13:18) What it’s like inside the testing lab
(16:00) What night shift leadership taught her about resilience
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
This is Power Onward,
the podcast that unveils how powertechnology shapes your everyday life.
You are listening to Power Onward.
What is power in your world? Power Onward.
(00:26):
This is Power Onward,
the podcast that unveils how powertechnology shapes your everyday life.
Imagine you're cultivating a garden. Atfirst, you're not sure what to expect.
You're planting seeds infresh soil, watering them, and giving them all the TLC.
The conditions aren't always ideal.Sometimes the weather's too hot,
(00:48):
sometimes it rains a little too much,but you and the plants keep going.
You believe that with theright care and patience,
something beautiful will bloomfrom fresh veggies to new leaves.
Witnessing their growthis rewarding to you.
This is the spirit that Taylorembraces from starting as an auto shop
(01:09):
mechanic to becoming a testengineer and, eventually,
mechanical engineeringtechnician coach at Cummins.
She's learned how to flourish in anyenvironment and help those around her do
the same. I'm Kim.
And I'm Taylor.
Taylor, your journey is all aboutgrowth, not just professionally,
but also personally.
(01:30):
Can you share more about how you'vecultivated this resilience and found your
niche at Cummins?
Well, it all started with me tryingto figure out what I wanted to do.
So I was like, well, I need a jobat least to start going to school.
So my friend got me in at anoil change place and I was like,
but I don't know how to do that. Idunno, I can't change a brake light bulb.
(01:53):
So he's like, it's fine, we'llteach you. And so I was like, okay,
if you say so. And Istarted working there.
I started learning about cars and then Isurprisingly really ended up liking it.
So then I started taking the automotiveclasses at school and by the time that I
finished my associate's degree, I wasstore manager at the oil change chain.
(02:14):
And then at that point I was justkind of like, I need more than this.
And so I decided a lot of mymentors in school had talked about a
program at Southern IllinoisUniversity for automotive,
and I decided that was the move forme. So I went to go get my bachelor's.
So after your bachelor's, whatthen brought you to Cummins?
Well, it was peak COVID at the time,
(02:37):
so I was applying left and trying tofind a place to fit in and I'd received a
couple of offers, but the offer fromCummins sounded really intriguing to me.
A lot more hands-on role as far as testengineering is concerned and I was like,
I don't know what that is.
Actually, maybe I should back up.How did you even know about Cummins?
Did you know about it orwas it just like, well,
I don't know what thisplace is, but I'll apply?
(02:57):
Yeah, knowing that Cummins is one ofthe biggest diesel engine manufacturers,
I was like, that soundslike a cool place to work.
And so having some options to choose from,
the role of test engineers sounded themost hands-on and the most interesting to
me.
Very cool. So when you first started,tell me about your experience at Cummins.
(03:18):
I had to learn how to be a test engineer.
Being a lot more mechanicallyand automotive inclined,
it was a different atmospherethan I was used to.
Joining the world of engineeringsurrounded by mostly mechanical engineers,
I was like, I don't think I belonghere. Did they hire me by accident?
Well, how did thosefeelings evolve over time?
I'm sure that's nothow you felt long-term.
(03:39):
Correct. So basically after a while,
I'm kind of doing my thing and learningthe role and learning how we engineer
and how we test engineshere. And I'm like, wow.
I think a lot of my knowledge that Ihave on how engines work and the basics
have been actuallyreally beneficial to me.
More so than your standard mechanicalengineer thinking that they have a
(04:00):
lot more of the theorystuff. And I was like,
I've seen this before in real life.
Because theoreticallythings can go one way,
but having that hands-on experience atthe oil change place gave you that strong
foundation,
that hands-on experience that kind ofmade you a little bit more experienced in
that field, would you say?
Yeah,
I would say the combination of theexperience that I had in the shop before,
(04:22):
but also I have a Jeepthat I build and off road.
Very cool.
So a lot of experience working onmy own car and modifying it and
jacking it up, bigtires, all of the things.
Alright. So going back to feelinglike maybe you didn't belong,
there was a lot of uncertainty. Youfelt like I might've made a mistake,
(04:42):
you were able to getout of that situation.
But is there some advice that you wouldgive someone who feels like they're in
the wrong place in their career?
First of all, I think the feelings of,I don't know if I'm supposed to be here,
really started changing when I was ableto offer my unique perspective to my
teammates. And then they were like, oh,
she knows more about thisstuff than we do. Aha moment.
(05:05):
So seeing that I was able to sharesomething and bring value to the team,
I think really helped kind of flip myview and make me feel a little bit less
like an impostor. And then itactually worked out really well,
which kind of lends into diversity andthings like that with all of people's
different backgrounds.
They would help me with the engineeringthings and teach me thermal dynamic type
(05:25):
stuff, and I'm just like,here's what a piston does.
It was an exchange,
a meeting of the minds where you wereable to exchange valuable information to
behoove your work together.
Right, right.
Very cool.
So I guess back to your question is thesecond thing outside of finding ways
that your differences can bringvalue is finding a mentor.
(05:46):
I've had a mentor for almostas long as I've worked here,
which has been a really cool opportunitythat I've had in order to connect with
people in other roles, otherwomen in position of leadership.
And that's really helpedme throughout my journey,
working in the shop andgetting my footing there.
There was a lot of obstacles toovercome being the woman in the shop,
the girl stereotypically, theguys must know more than me.
(06:08):
Even when I was the manager andI had other girls working for me,
we would get a lot of thingsfrom customers talking about,
I don't want you on my car. I'm like,okay, you can have one of the boys,
that's fine. But I trained them.
Right. So whatever you get, I've helped.
Yeah, I've helped make it happen. SoI make it sound easy, but it wasn't.
You got to get some reallytough skin to deal with that.
(06:30):
So the amount of time that it took meto kind of overcome and be comfortable
with the fact that not everyone's goingto trust me and that's their problem,
it's not mine. Coming to Cummins,I was a little worried. I was like,
am I going to have to start this allover again with a different audience and
not externally customer facing,
but now I've got coworkers and engineeringis also a really male dominated
field. So I was like,how is this going to go?
(06:53):
But I was very pleasantly surprised.We had a lot of diversity on our team,
other women, people from other countries.
So I got to learn a lot about peoplefrom other origins and learn about their
cultures and things likethat, which is super cool.
But I would say that just my entire timebeing able to connect with other women,
like I said, in leadershippositions, other female engineers.
(07:15):
We have female technicianstoo, which is super cool.
I have two right now thatwork on my team, so shout out.
But in general,
I would say that it's been a very pleasantsurprise that I don't face really any
of our adversity here atCummins because I'm a girl.
It's really amazing to know that you camefrom having to deal with being a woman
(07:36):
in a male dominated field.
Coming into this perspective withCummins thinking you had to rebuild your
entire reputation and your repertoireand knowing that that wasn't the case at
all, everyone was really welcoming,everyone was approachable,
and you felt like you were in a spacewhere you could be your best and continue
to thrive.
Absolutely. And even beinga manager, it's like,
(07:56):
are the technicians that report to me,
are they going to think that I'mlesser because I'm not a man? No.
The only thing that they're going to thinklesser of me is if I'm a bad manager.
And that's like your skillset and whatyou are able to bring to the table as
opposed to, are you a male? Are you afemale? Or whatever. That doesn't matter.
Right.
Let's talk about Cummins impact.
(08:17):
What's one thing that Cumminsdoes that fills you with pride?
I'm really a huge fan of just thehistory, the roots of the company.
I really enjoy working for a companythat is so deeply rooted in just American
history. We're talking firstdiesel engine in a vehicle.
I know you had Lori on. That wassuper cool. I love listening to her.
I also really enjoy that wedo a lot for the community.
(08:40):
Some of my favorites areour Earth Day EEEC events.
And what are EEEC eventsfor those listeners who are not a part of the Cummins
ecosystem?
So EEEC is Every Employee Every Community.
Cummins really and empowers its employeesto contribute to the communities in
which we live and work.
(09:00):
So one of the things that we do at thetech center is a tree giveaway in April.
So I like to help handout trees to everybody.
You get a free tree sapling andyou can plant it wherever you want
and it's good for the environment.
And you're a proud plant parent at home.
So I'm sure you love being able to seethe others that you give way get nurtured
(09:22):
and grow as well.
Absolutely.
Speaking of planting, you've gotsome other interesting hobbies.
Tell me about how those tieinto your work at Cummins.
I'm obviously really into plants.I have a vegetable garden.
I have my houseplant collectionthat tends to get neglected in the
summertime when I'm outside with myvegetables and my bees. I do keep bees.
(09:45):
At least I'm trying my best to,
it seems like all they everwant to do is try to die on me,
so I have to be there to support them.
And all of these kind of gowith the theme of environment,
greenery, sustainability, and just ahealthier planet, more prosperous world.
Was that intentional that all of yourhobbies tie into some of what Cummins
(10:06):
focuses on?
I don't think so. I think those arejust the things that I really love.
And so I try to seek out thethings that I love in my work too.
So getting to be a part of ourenvironmental volunteer opportunities.
There's been a couple, so I try tojump on those when I can. Currently,
I'm trying to see if maybe we can geta pollinator garden going at the tech
center. We'll see.
(10:28):
In my apartment complex, they have gardenbeds and you can run a space there.
I was too late to jump on board todo one. I was also afraid to commit.
But if I were to start one, whatis something you would recommend?
A good mix.
So I would say you want to bring someflowers that are going to bring the
pollinators in and preferably somethat are going to be pest resistant.
(10:49):
Keep the bag bugs away. SoI like to use marigolds.
Marigolds are good.Snapdragons are also good,
if marigolds are kindof outplayed for you.
Why would you assume that? Okay. Butwe love all the recommendations. Okay,
continue.
Yeah. And then your vegetables,
whatever's your style for that.
(11:11):
I love chilies and basil. I love Thaibasil specifically. I love to make,
I just love the way they smell.I love the way they taste.
I like infusing them inmocktails. I don't know.
You can't go wrong with those two things.
Yeah. Well, I love my herbs too.
I built a nice little herb pole on myback porch so I can just go out there and
pick things and bring'em into the kitchen.
Nice.
(11:31):
But yeah,
herbs are always good and most of themactually also are pretty good pest
deterrence too.
Good to know. Earlier you mentionedyour team. Tell me more about your team,
because what I think is so fascinatingis you came into this wondering like,
oh my gosh, are they going to like me?Am I going to bring value to the team?
And then they were all hyping youup. Like, Taylor, you're amazing.
(11:51):
We would love to work for you. Sotell me more about that dynamic.
I would say in my past pre-Cummins,
I learned a lot about howto not be a good manager.
That speaks volume, butwe'll leave it there.
So with that being said, you canlook at things in different lights.
So you can either just say, this isterrible, I hate this, I'm miserable,
(12:12):
my manager's awful. All of the things.
I kind of chose to look at it throughthe lens of what can I learn from this?
How can I make sure thatI'm not like that person?
How can I be a leader thatpeople want to follow?
And that's been a reallyimportant theme for me.
Just because you're a leader doesn'tmean you're also not a human.
I put myself on the same level as myteam. I tell them, Hey, I'm not perfect.
(12:34):
They know that.
They know that I'm notabove being called out.
Let me know if I've donesomething that you don't like.
And I'm also not afraid toadmit my mistakes. And I think that's really the key:
leveling with people andsaying, Hey, oops, I'm sorry.
We're all human. And itmakes you more approachable.
That level of communication,
(12:55):
I feel like that opens the lines formore communication to give that feedback
real time.
Yeah, I definitely liketo lead from the group.
I don't like to lead from the back orthe front or whatever it is. I mean,
if I could be in the testhalls with them, I would.
Because you miss it.You get FOMO, don't you?
I do miss it. Yeah.
Talk to me more about that test.
(13:16):
Can you paint a picture ofwhat that actually looks like?
The tech center is one of thevery coolest places to work.
I love working at the techcenter. It is so cool.
We get to see all the supertop-secret new product testing,
so it makes us feelreally special. But yeah,
new engine platforms that are comingout, obviously we need to test them,
(13:37):
make sure that they're going to be goodbefore we get 'em in the hands of our
customers. There's a lot of really coolstuff that goes into testing. I mean,
we got an engine hooked up toa dyno in a room that is...
A dyno?
Yeah.
What is that?
Basically it is what spinsthe engine to get it going.
And it measures a lot of things for uslike torque and speed, things like that.
(13:57):
Gotcha.
Yeah. So it's hooked upand it's in this room.
We have a lot, so we have a lotof test cells at the deck center.
We have some special ones foraltitude testing, cold cell testing.
So we also have a tilt stand test cellso that we can mount the engine at
different angles to make sure thatthings like construction equipment,
(14:19):
we want to make sure that it's not goingto be losing oil pressure and things
like that if it gets too off tilt.
So there's a lot of work that goes intogetting an engine together before it's
out on the road.
But that lends into the durability andreliability of it because in the most
extreme climate or conditions, they'vealready been tested against that.
Right, right.
And then we have our field test groupthat they take the engines out into what I
(14:42):
say, the real world,
but we try to mimic that as close aswe can in the tech center within four
walls. We go on a lot of long driveswithout ever leaving the building.
I like the way you put that.
And so there's a lot ofdifferent places to test
products. How many people areon your team helping to do this?
(15:03):
So my team specifically, I have 25.
Whoa.
And my department is theemissions technology test.
So we do all of the emissioncertification testing.
We also make sure that the OBD systemis working the way that it should
detecting...
OBD, you've lost me. What are wedoing? What are we talking about?
The onboard diagnostics. Sobasically, your check engine light.
(15:25):
Gotcha.
A part of emission standards is we haveto make sure that the check engine light
comes on. That's something people don'treally know about that they're like, oh,
I just have this annoyinglight on my dash.
That's exactly how I view it. I am like,oh great, that's going to cost money.
I see dollar signs when Isee my check engine light.
But we're required to make sure thatthat is telling people that there's
something wrong so they can get itfixed and not be out on the road and
(15:49):
potentially putting out moreemissions than they should be.
So we have to make sure that works.
Right.
How do you go about mentoring and guidingand leading with 25 people on your
team?
It definitely takes someskill. It takes really my team.
I'm not going to sit here andpretend that I do all of it myself.
I have a very talented team.
I have some trades associatesthat essentially are kind of
(16:14):
the in-between between meand the rest of my team.
Their sole function is support.
So they do a lot of the teachingand guiding of the team.
We kind of all work together to trainour new people. So being on night shift,
we have this interesting circumstancewhere we don't have a lot of guidance,
leadership, things like that. It is us.
So that creates a lot more of atighter knit group, a lot of teamwork,
(16:36):
a lot more. We rely on each other toproblem solve and get through issues,
things like that. So.
You've cultivated your own community?
I certainly try.
It sounds so fun. I'd loveto join you one evening,
but it is way past my bedtime.I can't even lie. Taylor,
I've had so much fun talking to you today.
I know we've had a prior conversationwhere I spoke about my experience coming
(16:59):
from social media in sports marketing,
and coming from my experience of being awoman in a male dominated field where I
was always asked, oh, who's plus oneare you? When I'm like, no, no, no.
It is me. I will be the one talkingto the athletes. Thank you so much.
Yas queen.
But it,
it's been good to hear your perspectiveand see others' experience of going
(17:19):
through something like that. Ialso love that you become a leader.
Not only do you get the mentorshipand the female leaders around you,
you are also one yourself.
Thank you again for takingtime to come on the podcast.
,-Absolutely. It's been a pleasure.
So what's the big idea for this episode?
Just like the greenery that growsthrough the cracks of the concrete,
resilience isn't just aboutgetting through the hard stuff.
(17:41):
It's also about taking your uniqueexperiences and making it work for you.
Taylor reminded us thatno matter where you are,
your real-life experience can setyou apart. And at the end of the day,
if you ever feel out of place,
just remember that your differencescould be your biggest strengths.
And when you put in the work andyou see the impact of your efforts,
it's like the satisfactionof a summer harvest.
You get to see all thegood that it's creating.
(18:05):
Power Onward.
Thank you for listening to Power Onward.Your support means the world to us.
If you enjoyed this episode,please don't forget to subscribe,
rate and review on yourfavorite podcast platform.
If you want to dig deeperon what we covered today,
(18:26):
check out the show notes foradditional links or go to
cummins.com/podcast. Until next time,
Power Onward.
We are from Cummins,
the company that's been innovatingtoward the future for more than a hundred
years. We're no strangers to rapid change,
(18:47):
global shifts and economic uncertainty.
We want to be your constant duringthe energy transition. Whenever,
wherever, forever. Power Onward.
This is Power Onward,
the podcast that unveils how powertechnology shapes your everyday life.
You are listening to Power Onward.
What is power in your world? Power Onward.
(00:26):
This is Power Onward,
the podcast that unveils how powertechnology shapes your everyday life.
Imagine you're cultivating a garden. Atfirst, you're not sure what to expect.
You're planting seeds infresh soil, watering them, and giving them all the TLC.
The conditions aren't always ideal.Sometimes the weather's too hot,
(00:48):
sometimes it rains a little too much,but you and the plants keep going.
You believe that with theright care and patience,
something beautiful will bloomfrom fresh veggies to new leaves.
Witnessing their growthis rewarding to you.
This is the spirit that Taylorembraces from starting as an auto shop
(01:09):
mechanic to becoming a testengineer and, eventually,
mechanical engineeringtechnician coach at Cummins.
She's learned how to flourish in anyenvironment and help those around her do
the same. I'm Kim.
And I'm Taylor.
Taylor, your journey is all aboutgrowth, not just professionally,
but also personally.
(01:30):
Can you share more about how you'vecultivated this resilience and found your
niche at Cummins?
Well, it all started with me tryingto figure out what I wanted to do.
So I was like, well, I need a jobat least to start going to school.
So my friend got me in at anoil change place and I was like,
but I don't know how to do that. Idunno, I can't change a brake light bulb.
(01:53):
So he's like, it's fine, we'llteach you. And so I was like, okay,
if you say so. And Istarted working there.
I started learning about cars and then Isurprisingly really ended up liking it.
So then I started taking the automotiveclasses at school and by the time that I
finished my associate's degree, I wasstore manager at the oil change chain.
(02:14):
And then at that point I was justkind of like, I need more than this.
And so I decided a lot of mymentors in school had talked about a
program at Southern IllinoisUniversity for automotive,
and I decided that was the move forme. So I went to go get my bachelor's.
So after your bachelor's, whatthen brought you to Cummins?
Well, it was peak COVID at the time,
(02:37):
so I was applying left and trying tofind a place to fit in and I'd received a
couple of offers, but the offer fromCummins sounded really intriguing to me.
A lot more hands-on role as far as testengineering is concerned and I was like,
I don't know what that is.
Actually, maybe I should back up.How did you even know about Cummins?
Did you know about it orwas it just like, well,
I don't know what thisplace is, but I'll apply?
(02:57):
Yeah, knowing that Cummins is one ofthe biggest diesel engine manufacturers,
I was like, that soundslike a cool place to work.
And so having some options to choose from,
the role of test engineers sounded themost hands-on and the most interesting to
me.
Very cool. So when you first started,tell me about your experience at Cummins.
(03:18):
I had to learn how to be a test engineer.
Being a lot more mechanicallyand automotive inclined,
it was a different atmospherethan I was used to.
Joining the world of engineeringsurrounded by mostly mechanical engineers,
I was like, I don't think I belonghere. Did they hire me by accident?
Well, how did thosefeelings evolve over time?
I'm sure that's nothow you felt long-term.
(03:39):
Correct. So basically after a while,
I'm kind of doing my thing and learningthe role and learning how we engineer
and how we test engineshere. And I'm like, wow.
I think a lot of my knowledge that Ihave on how engines work and the basics
have been actuallyreally beneficial to me.
More so than your standard mechanicalengineer thinking that they have a
(04:00):
lot more of the theorystuff. And I was like,
I've seen this before in real life.
Because theoreticallythings can go one way,
but having that hands-on experience atthe oil change place gave you that strong
foundation,
that hands-on experience that kind ofmade you a little bit more experienced in
that field, would you say?
Yeah,
I would say the combination of theexperience that I had in the shop before,
(04:22):
but also I have a Jeepthat I build and off road.
Very cool.
So a lot of experience working onmy own car and modifying it and
jacking it up, bigtires, all of the things.
Alright. So going back to feelinglike maybe you didn't belong,
there was a lot of uncertainty. Youfelt like I might've made a mistake,
(04:42):
you were able to getout of that situation.
But is there some advice that you wouldgive someone who feels like they're in
the wrong place in their career?
First of all, I think the feelings of,I don't know if I'm supposed to be here,
really started changing when I was ableto offer my unique perspective to my
teammates. And then they were like, oh,
she knows more about thisstuff than we do. Aha moment.
(05:05):
So seeing that I was able to sharesomething and bring value to the team,
I think really helped kind of flip myview and make me feel a little bit less
like an impostor. And then itactually worked out really well,
which kind of lends into diversity andthings like that with all of people's
different backgrounds.
They would help me with the engineeringthings and teach me thermal dynamic type
(05:25):
stuff, and I'm just like,here's what a piston does.
It was an exchange,
a meeting of the minds where you wereable to exchange valuable information to
behoove your work together.
Right, right.
Very cool.
So I guess back to your question is thesecond thing outside of finding ways
that your differences can bringvalue is finding a mentor.
(05:46):
I've had a mentor for almostas long as I've worked here,
which has been a really cool opportunitythat I've had in order to connect with
people in other roles, otherwomen in position of leadership.
And that's really helpedme throughout my journey,
working in the shop andgetting my footing there.
There was a lot of obstacles toovercome being the woman in the shop,
the girl stereotypically, theguys must know more than me.
(06:08):
Even when I was the manager andI had other girls working for me,
we would get a lot of thingsfrom customers talking about,
I don't want you on my car. I'm like,okay, you can have one of the boys,
that's fine. But I trained them.
Right. So whatever you get, I've helped.
Yeah, I've helped make it happen. SoI make it sound easy, but it wasn't.
You got to get some reallytough skin to deal with that.
(06:30):
So the amount of time that it took meto kind of overcome and be comfortable
with the fact that not everyone's goingto trust me and that's their problem,
it's not mine. Coming to Cummins,I was a little worried. I was like,
am I going to have to start this allover again with a different audience and
not externally customer facing,
but now I've got coworkers and engineeringis also a really male dominated
field. So I was like,how is this going to go?
(06:53):
But I was very pleasantly surprised.We had a lot of diversity on our team,
other women, people from other countries.
So I got to learn a lot about peoplefrom other origins and learn about their
cultures and things likethat, which is super cool.
But I would say that just my entire timebeing able to connect with other women,
like I said, in leadershippositions, other female engineers.
(07:15):
We have female technicianstoo, which is super cool.
I have two right now thatwork on my team, so shout out.
But in general,
I would say that it's been a very pleasantsurprise that I don't face really any
of our adversity here atCummins because I'm a girl.
It's really amazing to know that you camefrom having to deal with being a woman
(07:36):
in a male dominated field.
Coming into this perspective withCummins thinking you had to rebuild your
entire reputation and your repertoireand knowing that that wasn't the case at
all, everyone was really welcoming,everyone was approachable,
and you felt like you were in a spacewhere you could be your best and continue
to thrive.
Absolutely. And even beinga manager, it's like,
(07:56):
are the technicians that report to me,
are they going to think that I'mlesser because I'm not a man? No.
The only thing that they're going to thinklesser of me is if I'm a bad manager.
And that's like your skillset and whatyou are able to bring to the table as
opposed to, are you a male? Are you afemale? Or whatever. That doesn't matter.
Right.
Let's talk about Cummins impact.
(08:17):
What's one thing that Cumminsdoes that fills you with pride?
I'm really a huge fan of just thehistory, the roots of the company.
I really enjoy working for a companythat is so deeply rooted in just American
history. We're talking firstdiesel engine in a vehicle.
I know you had Lori on. That wassuper cool. I love listening to her.
I also really enjoy that wedo a lot for the community.
(08:40):
Some of my favorites areour Earth Day EEEC events.
And what are EEEC eventsfor those listeners who are not a part of the Cummins
ecosystem?
So EEEC is Every Employee Every Community.
Cummins really and empowers its employeesto contribute to the communities in
which we live and work.
(09:00):
So one of the things that we do at thetech center is a tree giveaway in April.
So I like to help handout trees to everybody.
You get a free tree sapling andyou can plant it wherever you want
and it's good for the environment.
And you're a proud plant parent at home.
So I'm sure you love being able to seethe others that you give way get nurtured
(09:22):
and grow as well.
Absolutely.
Speaking of planting, you've gotsome other interesting hobbies.
Tell me about how those tieinto your work at Cummins.
I'm obviously really into plants.I have a vegetable garden.
I have my houseplant collectionthat tends to get neglected in the
summertime when I'm outside with myvegetables and my bees. I do keep bees.
(09:45):
At least I'm trying my best to,
it seems like all they everwant to do is try to die on me,
so I have to be there to support them.
And all of these kind of gowith the theme of environment,
greenery, sustainability, and just ahealthier planet, more prosperous world.
Was that intentional that all of yourhobbies tie into some of what Cummins
(10:06):
focuses on?
I don't think so. I think those arejust the things that I really love.
And so I try to seek out thethings that I love in my work too.
So getting to be a part of ourenvironmental volunteer opportunities.
There's been a couple, so I try tojump on those when I can. Currently,
I'm trying to see if maybe we can geta pollinator garden going at the tech
center. We'll see.
(10:28):
In my apartment complex, they have gardenbeds and you can run a space there.
I was too late to jump on board todo one. I was also afraid to commit.
But if I were to start one, whatis something you would recommend?
A good mix.
So I would say you want to bring someflowers that are going to bring the
pollinators in and preferably somethat are going to be pest resistant.
(10:49):
Keep the bag bugs away. SoI like to use marigolds.
Marigolds are good.Snapdragons are also good,
if marigolds are kindof outplayed for you.
Why would you assume that? Okay. Butwe love all the recommendations. Okay,
continue.
Yeah. And then your vegetables,
whatever's your style for that.
(11:11):
I love chilies and basil. I love Thaibasil specifically. I love to make,
I just love the way they smell.I love the way they taste.
I like infusing them inmocktails. I don't know.
You can't go wrong with those two things.
Yeah. Well, I love my herbs too.
I built a nice little herb pole on myback porch so I can just go out there and
pick things and bring'em into the kitchen.
Nice.
(11:31):
But yeah,
herbs are always good and most of themactually also are pretty good pest
deterrence too.
Good to know. Earlier you mentionedyour team. Tell me more about your team,
because what I think is so fascinatingis you came into this wondering like,
oh my gosh, are they going to like me?Am I going to bring value to the team?
And then they were all hyping youup. Like, Taylor, you're amazing.
(11:51):
We would love to work for you. Sotell me more about that dynamic.
I would say in my past pre-Cummins,
I learned a lot about howto not be a good manager.
That speaks volume, butwe'll leave it there.
So with that being said, you canlook at things in different lights.
So you can either just say, this isterrible, I hate this, I'm miserable,
(12:12):
my manager's awful. All of the things.
I kind of chose to look at it throughthe lens of what can I learn from this?
How can I make sure thatI'm not like that person?
How can I be a leader thatpeople want to follow?
And that's been a reallyimportant theme for me.
Just because you're a leader doesn'tmean you're also not a human.
I put myself on the same level as myteam. I tell them, Hey, I'm not perfect.
(12:34):
They know that.
They know that I'm notabove being called out.
Let me know if I've donesomething that you don't like.
And I'm also not afraid toadmit my mistakes. And I think that's really the key:
leveling with people andsaying, Hey, oops, I'm sorry.
We're all human. And itmakes you more approachable.
That level of communication,
(12:55):
I feel like that opens the lines formore communication to give that feedback
real time.
Yeah, I definitely liketo lead from the group.
I don't like to lead from the back orthe front or whatever it is. I mean,
if I could be in the testhalls with them, I would.
Because you miss it.You get FOMO, don't you?
I do miss it. Yeah.
Talk to me more about that test.
(13:16):
Can you paint a picture ofwhat that actually looks like?
The tech center is one of thevery coolest places to work.
I love working at the techcenter. It is so cool.
We get to see all the supertop-secret new product testing,
so it makes us feelreally special. But yeah,
new engine platforms that are comingout, obviously we need to test them,
(13:37):
make sure that they're going to be goodbefore we get 'em in the hands of our
customers. There's a lot of really coolstuff that goes into testing. I mean,
we got an engine hooked up toa dyno in a room that is...
A dyno?
Yeah.
What is that?
Basically it is what spinsthe engine to get it going.
And it measures a lot of things for uslike torque and speed, things like that.
(13:57):
Gotcha.
Yeah. So it's hooked upand it's in this room.
We have a lot, so we have a lotof test cells at the deck center.
We have some special ones foraltitude testing, cold cell testing.
So we also have a tilt stand test cellso that we can mount the engine at
different angles to make sure thatthings like construction equipment,
(14:19):
we want to make sure that it's not goingto be losing oil pressure and things
like that if it gets too off tilt.
So there's a lot of work that goes intogetting an engine together before it's
out on the road.
But that lends into the durability andreliability of it because in the most
extreme climate or conditions, they'vealready been tested against that.
Right, right.
And then we have our field test groupthat they take the engines out into what I
(14:42):
say, the real world,
but we try to mimic that as close aswe can in the tech center within four
walls. We go on a lot of long driveswithout ever leaving the building.
I like the way you put that.
And so there's a lot ofdifferent places to test
products. How many people areon your team helping to do this?
(15:03):
So my team specifically, I have 25.
Whoa.
And my department is theemissions technology test.
So we do all of the emissioncertification testing.
We also make sure that the OBD systemis working the way that it should
detecting...
OBD, you've lost me. What are wedoing? What are we talking about?
The onboard diagnostics. Sobasically, your check engine light.
(15:25):
Gotcha.
A part of emission standards is we haveto make sure that the check engine light
comes on. That's something people don'treally know about that they're like, oh,
I just have this annoyinglight on my dash.
That's exactly how I view it. I am like,oh great, that's going to cost money.
I see dollar signs when Isee my check engine light.
But we're required to make sure thatthat is telling people that there's
something wrong so they can get itfixed and not be out on the road and
(15:49):
potentially putting out moreemissions than they should be.
So we have to make sure that works.
Right.
How do you go about mentoring and guidingand leading with 25 people on your
team?
It definitely takes someskill. It takes really my team.
I'm not going to sit here andpretend that I do all of it myself.
I have a very talented team.
I have some trades associatesthat essentially are kind of
(16:14):
the in-between between meand the rest of my team.
Their sole function is support.
So they do a lot of the teachingand guiding of the team.
We kind of all work together to trainour new people. So being on night shift,
we have this interesting circumstancewhere we don't have a lot of guidance,
leadership, things like that. It is us.
So that creates a lot more of atighter knit group, a lot of teamwork,
(16:36):
a lot more. We rely on each other toproblem solve and get through issues,
things like that. So.
You've cultivated your own community?
I certainly try.
It sounds so fun. I'd loveto join you one evening,
but it is way past my bedtime.I can't even lie. Taylor,
I've had so much fun talking to you today.
I know we've had a prior conversationwhere I spoke about my experience coming
(16:59):
from social media in sports marketing,
and coming from my experience of being awoman in a male dominated field where I
was always asked, oh, who's plus oneare you? When I'm like, no, no, no.
It is me. I will be the one talkingto the athletes. Thank you so much.
Yas queen.
But it,
it's been good to hear your perspectiveand see others' experience of going
(17:19):
through something like that. Ialso love that you become a leader.
Not only do you get the mentorshipand the female leaders around you,
you are also one yourself.
Thank you again for takingtime to come on the podcast.
,-Absolutely. It's been a pleasure.
So what's the big idea for this episode?
Just like the greenery that growsthrough the cracks of the concrete,
resilience isn't just aboutgetting through the hard stuff.
(17:41):
It's also about taking your uniqueexperiences and making it work for you.
Taylor reminded us thatno matter where you are,
your real-life experience can setyou apart. And at the end of the day,
if you ever feel out of place,
just remember that your differencescould be your biggest strengths.
And when you put in the work andyou see the impact of your efforts,
it's like the satisfactionof a summer harvest.
You get to see all thegood that it's creating.
(18:05):
Power Onward.
Thank you for listening to Power Onward.Your support means the world to us.
If you enjoyed this episode,please don't forget to subscribe,
rate and review on yourfavorite podcast platform.
If you want to dig deeperon what we covered today,
(18:26):
check out the show notes foradditional links or go to
cummins.com/podcast. Until next time,
Power Onward.
We are from Cummins,
the company that's been innovatingtoward the future for more than a hundred
years. We're no strangers to rapid change,
(18:47):
global shifts and economic uncertainty.
We want to be your constant duringthe energy transition. Whenever,
wherever, forever. Power Onward.
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