Brookfield East Class of 2009

2009 Spartan alum, Lane Konkel was recently named to the Forbes "30 Under 30" Manufacturing and Industry Class of 2017 for her work at GE Healthcare.

The Konkel family moved to the Elmbrook area after Lane graduated first grade and she began second-grade experience at Burleigh Elementary. From Burleigh, she continued on to Pilgrim Park Middle School and ultimately Brookfield East High School.

Lane is grateful to so many of her Elmbrook educators through her years in the district, highlighting her fifth-grade teacher Mr. Kust for his passion for his students and teaching, and her freshman world history teacher Mr. Farley who helped set her on track for who she would become. "Mr. Farley had a quote he emphasized 'life is 90% attitude', and that quote really resonated with me," said Konkel. "It made me realize that every day I want to choose my attitude and to make someone's life better."

While at East, Lane was actively involved in a number of area organizations and extracurriculars. She played volleyball, basketball, ran track, and was a member of the Link Crew mentorship program, French club, Ballroom Dance club and student council. "Elmbrook built who I am today," said Konkel, "the fundamentals of who I am came from what I learned. I was incredibly active in my school community, and being the youngest sibling, I was determined not to live in a shadow." Lane graduated from BEHS in 2009 as their Class President.

Following her graduation, she continued her education at Purdue University where she majored in Industrial Engineering with a minor in Business Management. At Purdue, she became involved in Sigma Kappa Sorority and praised their work with the Alzheimer's Association which includes her sorority's annual Walk To End Alzheimer's. During her sophomore year, she took an internship at GE Healthcare which she continued the summer of her junior year. After graduation, Lane became a part of GE Healthcare's Operations Management Leadership Program(OMLP). In the two year program, she completed four different rotations throughout GE Healthcare, working with suppliers and customers of all sorts.

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Purdue in 2013 and applied for the Lean Leader position in Phoenix, Arizona, after graduating from OMLP. With GE's initiative to become a Digital Industrial company, GE Healthcare is aiming to ensure all processes are as effective as possible from both the human and digital ends. "The goal of my job is to remove all waste out of a process," said Konkel. "We ask ourselves what the customer would want to pay for and aim to only add value to each customer's experience ordering and using our products."

In early 2017, Lane was named to Forbes's "30 Under 30" list as being one of today's brightest young innovators after being nominated by her co-workers. She is incredibly humbled by the award and thinks of the recognition as a huge honor for GE and her team.

Today, Lane is the Lean Leader for GE Healthcare's Ultrasound manufacturing site in Phoenix. "Elmbrook is still a big part of me and was a driving force in shaping who I've become," stated Konkel. "Hats off to my parents for always stressing the importance of education." She is currently attending Penn State for her Master's degree in Supply Chain Management.

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