Student Spotlight: Lawson Burrows, UNC ’20

Lawson Burrows, UNC ’20, finished her undergraduate degree in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media and immediately put her creativity into practice. Lawson, originally from Atlanta, decided to take the summer to learn more about her family’s business, Harvey Fertilizer & Gas Co. in Kinston, North Carolina.

Lawson connected with her cousin Jack McNairy, Senior Vice President, and her uncle, John McNairy, CEO, and pitched an idea to do a rotational program within the company. During her tenure, she first took time to learn about the business, and then got to create a project that aligned with her interest. Hour to hour the tasks she worked on varied. A typical day might begin by meeting with farmers, during the mid-morning she often had conversations about lines of credit offered to farmers, and by the afternoon she was doing house calls regarding propane before returning to the office to work on a marketing project.

Primarily working with farmers, Lawson quickly realized there are impacts to the success of the business that are uncontrollable, such as the weather. Hurricanes in recent years have really affected Kinston, and the family business, including some now vacant land that the leadership team tasked Lawson with figuring out how to repurpose.  By the end of her internship, she had the opportunity to create her own business plan on how to rebuild this land and make it into something profitable. This included a financial, branding, and marketing components that are crucial for a new business.

After her experience this summer, Lawson feels more confident in her ability to be able to serve the family business in the future. She looks forward to presenting her business plan to the board, which she also hopes to sit on one day.

Lawson Burrows, UNC ’20