Raquel Dagit | Dunlap, Illinois

A second-generation Caterpillar employee, Raquel was born and (mostly) raised in Peoria. She started at CAT right out of college and now works her dream job managing Caterpillar’s early talent Field Rep Development Program for the Americas.

Dagit remembers wanting to be a Rockette as a child. Admitting, however, that dancing was never her forte, she recounts her other dream careers as “stay-at-home mom or something to do with international business, specifically with Spanish-speaking countries.” Once completing college and beginning a career at CAT, Raquel remembers the challenges she had to overcome to succeed. “…Throughout my career, I have often felt unqualified taking each new position. I’ve realized I can use my strengths…to add value where I can, and the knowledge and confidence will come as I show up faithfully each day to do the work and [be] willing to learn.”

Dagit is mother to three boys (Ezekiel, Elijah, and Gabriel) and enjoys raising them alongside her husband and best friend, Evan. On the off chance this program manager, volunteer, wife, and mom of three boys is able to find some free time, Dagit enjoys spending time with family and friends, exercising, traveling, watching anything Purdue (Boiler Up!), and learning new things like new recipes, golf, and knitting.

Dagit volunteers with her kids’ school, Peoria Christian, and her home church, Grace Presbyterian. She also loves supporting the Midwest Food Bank which helps the immediate needs of her community and communities around the world. Dagit values servant leadership, charity, and humility and explains, “You don’t succeed by being self-sufficient, but by being able to bring others along with you, motivating them to do their best and winning together. The best leaders I have worked with are able to celebrate the wins together and use the failures as an opportunity to learn and encourage creativity within the team to try something different.”

“Raquel is a bright light for our community,” writes Jada Hoerr from Midwest Food Bank. “She is a talented professional with exceptional results in her career at Caterpillar. She is an engaged mom active in coaching her son's athletics and volunteering at school. She is a leader at her church and a community volunteer. And if this isn't enough, she has a warmth and winsome presence that makes everyone she encounters feel at home.”