From the Plant Floor to the Corporate Office, Being Well-Rounded in ISM
While in college, Jamie Loeks, B.B.A.'10, loaded his resume with internships at organizations such as Dana Corporation, FEMA, Marathon Petroleum and Whirlpool. He enjoyed the work and the company culture at Whirlpool, and his supervisors took note, offering him a full-time position in the Leadership Development Program as a supply chain specialist after graduation
The Haworth College of Business has a standout integrated supply chain management program, and Loeks credits both the ISM Program and the college with helping him develop into a well-rounded business student and business professional. “Overall the ISM program at Western gave me the broad knowledge necessary to go much further outside my normal role in comparison to my peers from other notable supply chain schools. The ability to work anywhere from the plant to the corporate office and add value has been something I can attribute to Western’s unique program and knowledgeable professors.”
And when he says well-rounded, he means it! When asked about the most interesting experience in his career thus far, he spoke about a position slightly out of his comfort zone, working as a quality engineer at Whirlpool without an engineering degree. The College’s ISM program prepares students for work in engineering, providing the fundamentals, but Loeks had to work hard to get up to speed on not only how the specific products were manufactured but also all the nuances and quality issues as well. It was a daunting task, but it allowed him to grow and become a better employee overall, “I learned more about myself and my ability in that job than I could have imagined, going outside one’s comfort zone is truly the best experience you can ever get early in your career,” he states.
Loeks is about to take on another challenge that will stretch him outside his comfort zone, accepting a new position at Tribridge Consulting, an IT services and business consulting firm in Tampa, Florida. There he will work as an ERP implementation consultant for the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform where he will facilitate the flow of information across all business functions in the organization and manage connections to outside stakeholders.