University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) students are involved in solving real-world challenges. Particularly, the College of Business has opportunities for students, like senior supply chain major Brian Saravia Mejia, to solve supply chain challenges experienced by companies such as Walmart, Nestle, Monsanto and Tyson Foods. For Brian, supply chain is a great field to be in because he can solve problems and figure out the causes behind them. His goal is to be in a managerial position someday. After that, he plans to further his business degree.
When Brian was in middle school, he toured the UNL campus with the Mexican American Student Association (MASA), only to realize that this was the school he dreamt of attending someday. Being surrounded by people just like him achieving the same first-generation dream, he knew that a bachelor’s degree wasn’t too far out of his reach. He chose the College of Business because he enjoyed the decision-making process and looked up to people in power because they were strong leaders. When the time came, Brian told academic advisor, Mark Davis, that he already knew what he was cut out to do. He wanted to work hands-on with people but didn’t want to work in human resources as he knew from the start that he would be best at managing a team. Thus, a supply chain major was born, and he would soon be making decisions that impact others in his community.
As a first-gen student, Brian felt like he had a responsibility to be a wonderful example for his family members. His personal mantra is “failure is preparation for success.” Brian only says that because he has failed many times. He has been turned down multiple times. While many would take that as a sign of failure, he took it as a sign to work harder and push his boundaries.
“At first, it might seem discouraging, but you should always keep your head up and keep setting yourself up to work harder,” he observed. “Many people always think that networking is just getting a job from it. Networking will come a whole lot easier when you start as friends.”
He credits a lot of his success to BSAD 333, a prep course designed to prepare students for the internship and job process after graduation. The course is where he originally landed his internship with Honeybee Robotics. His hard work and determination put him ahead, as he’s now a full-time team member for Honeybee Robotics with daily tasks such as procurement and sourcing. He’s currently working on a huge project that he said is very rewarding and something he never imagined himself doing. The project involves Dragonfly, which is a rotorcraft lander that will tour Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, in 2034. Being part of the future is a major accomplishment, yet Brian insists that he wouldn’t have ever made it this far without Caitlin King, Director of Contracts and Supply Chain, and Steve Binzel, Supply Chain Manager. Caitlin and Steve are the people he looks up to the most within Honeybee Robotics, as they showed him examples of strong leadership.
After graduation, Brian wants to move to Longmont, Colorado, where his Honeybee Robotics team is headquartered. There, he’ll continue his education and someday achieve a masters in a college of his choosing. Leaving UNL behind, he gives thanks to a few inspirational people he’s met along the way such as Dr. Jennifer Ryan, department chair and professor of Supply Chain Management and Analytics, who always gives great feedback, and retired professor of Supply Chain Management and Analytics, Clyde Davis, because of how many opportunities Clyde was able to offer to him.
“He saw something in me and took a chance on me. I’ll always be grateful for that,” remarked Brian.
Brian believes there’s a lot of potential in a supply chain management degree, and everyone simply must chase after those opportunities. As a result of the pandemic, there has been a surge of demand for supply chain majors, which has added to the already increasing demand.
“Make sure to take something from everywhere you go, whether it’s class or work,” Brian said. “There’s always something to learn. A lot of classes might seem pointless right now, but it’s the reason why I think I’ve had so many opportunities and chances to pick what I like best, because I had something to compare. If I wanted to do anything, I had connections. It’s important to make opportunities from everything.”