Alumni Feature - Yuliana McGee
Meet Yuliana McGee, an A&M-Texarkana Alumna and Human Resources Manager for Mayo Manufacturing Corporation. Yuliana was born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, Texas and moved to Texarkana to study at Texas A&M University-Texarkana in 2014. Originally interested in the medical profession, Yuliana earned her bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in business administration. She graduated from A&M-Texarkana in December 2017.
She is currently in her 6th year at Mayo Manufacturing and in her role as the Human Resources Manager enjoys building relationships with the company’s 230 employees. “My favorite thing about my job is making lasting connections with our employees,” McGee said. Her job involves recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and new-hire training, as well as providing ongoing leadership training. McGee says the things she learned in the classroom at A&M-Texarkana have helped her early on in her career. “I learned a lot of things in my business and marketing classes that are directly applicable in my day-to-day work,” she said.
In addition to her coursework, she also gained valuable experience as a First Year Experience (FYE) coach at the university. The FYE program at A&M-Texarkana provides engaging activities for first-year students aimed at building a strong foundation to enhance their educational experiences and foster success. All incoming students take the University Foundations course, a class designed to help them bridge the gap between high school and being a successful college student. FYE coaches are established students who take the University Foundations course again, serving as a peer connection, mentor, and guide for students throughout their first year. “Being a mentor in the FYE program really helped me learn how to build relationships,” McGee said. “It helped me learn what students’ struggles were, and how to help them use the resources we had available to overcome them.” These same skills are the ones she uses daily at Mayo Manufacturing as she works with employees regarding insurance, other benefits, ongoing training, and making the transition from a new hire into a successful team member.
McGee says she initially chose Texas A&M University-Texarkana because of its affordability and proximity to her home in Mt. Pleasant, and that she would recommend the university to any student. “You’re able to get a high-quality A&M degree at an extremely affordable price,” she added.
McGee says there were three things that she specifically enjoyed about Texas A&M University-Texarkana. The first was the sense of community she felt on campus and the relationships she was able to build. The second was how accessible her professors were. “They were always available and very helpful any time I needed assistance. The small class sizes allowed them to really be engaged with their students,” she commented. Her third and possibly favorite aspect of studying at A&M-Texarkana was the ability to study abroad. “I loved that I was able to study in France while I was in college,” she said. “That experience played a big role in becoming the person I am today.”
Yuliana has been married to her husband Cody (whom she met through mutual friends at the university) since 2022. Cody is a 2016 graduate of A&M-Texarkana with a criminal justice degree and works locally as a legal assistant. The couple enjoys traveling for fun and list Amsterdam and Morrocco as two of their favorite destinations so far.