Lifestyle

Shannon Smith has walked the halls of her children’s Minnesota elementary school many times as a parent. Now she’s getting used to taking those same steps as a teacher.  

An associate product manager on Best Buy’s Digital, Analytics & Technology team, Shannon recently became a substitute teacher. She was motivated to get licensed after seeing the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating impact on her school district, including the loss of several teachers and bus drivers.   

“Schools are hurting for teachers right now,” she said.

Editor’s note: At Best Buy, we celebrate all mother figures. Here’s one example of a Best Buy mom celebrating her family and making a difference in her community.

Pam Spillner’s a senior finance specialist, mom, and volunteer extraordinaire who has inspired a whole new meaning to the phrase “Best Buy family.”

Her daughter, Ali, is a Geek Squad Agent at Store 1052 in Stevens Point, Wis. Son Jarod is also an Agent who makes in-home repair visits. The siblings have followed in their mom’s footsteps in more ways than one.

Content warning: This story mentions the loss of a child and cancer.

Andie Mulvaney-Thorp is no stranger to running the prestigious Boston Marathon — a race for which runners must meet challenging qualifying times to enter. She first took on the world’s oldest annual marathon in 2016. Then, she returned in 2021 and 2022 in support of a family facing an unimaginable challenge of its own.

A Best Buy Talent Acquisition Manager, Andie completed the 2021 marathon in Beantown in memory of Francesca “Beans” Kaczynski, her friend’s infant daughter who tragically passed away in December 2020, at only nine months, due to a rare form of brain cancer.

Editor’s note: In May, Best Buy is proud to honor Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month and celebrate our AAPI employees and communities. Read on for the story of one of our AAPI leaders.

Manahil Rajput is a Pakistani American Muslim woman who is known as a vibrant and energetic supervisor at Best Buy Store 1413 in Cypress, Texas.

From an early age, she was taught that cultural and religious identity were things to be cherished and celebrated.

As a college student and full-time retail supervisor, Manahil says she is proud to be part of a company focused on creating an inclusive workplace. 

Shane and Leah Moss are a perfect match in more ways than one.

The married couple works at Best Buy’s distribution center in Ardmore, Oklahoma. After Shane was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2018, he was in dire need of a transplant. Last December, he found a donor.

“The second they told him he needed a kidney, I thought, ‘Well I have two, you can just have one of mine,’” Leah said.

But the testing process to see if she was a match was complicated and long — and the chances of success were slim.

After reaching 18,000 feet surrounded by the tallest peaks in the Himalayas, Jill Pearson returned home in late March from a three-week trek to the base camp of Mount Everest with spirits just as high.

Jill, a program manager in ethics and compliance, made the journey to raise money and awareness for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a rare genetic disease that primarily affects boys. About one out of 5,000 boys is diagnosed with DMD, and it is the most severe of all muscular dystrophies.