Megan Steffey

How did you first hear about Rize, and why did you decide to take a Rize course?

Megan is a senior supply chain management major who originally planned to study fashion merchandising but switched when her school cut the program. While exploring options, she narrowed her choices to supply chain or international business. After she took her first Rize supply chain course, the hands-on approach hooked her: "I was in love with it. Every single assignment, I felt like I was the manager... I was implementing my learnings, and it really stuck with me."

She's taken over 5 Rize courses including Supply Chain in Action, Sourcing and Operations, Managerial Accounting, Forecasting and Logistics, and is currently in Supply Chain Management Technologies and Supply Chain Capstone. She's also minoring in Japanese.

How did you apply your Rize skills outside of the classroom?

Megan completed two supply chain internships, and has been able to leverage her skills across two different industries:

Industrial lighting company: Megan interned with a company specializing in industrial lighting and distribution, and managed an inventory project to identify and remove outdated parts from the warehouse management system. She compared product catalogs to identify obsolete items, consulted with repair and assembly managers to determine which components were still needed, and conducted a cycle count which she learned in her Sourcing and Operations course, to track the old inventory. Instead of discarding the parts, Megan implemented a strategic initiative to leverage usable parts for customer repairs, which expedited repair timelines and improved customer relations.

Campus retail store: Megan worked in sourcing for her school's retail stores, meeting with apparel merchandisers to select products, evaluating materials for the school's emblem, and redesigning the hockey arena storefront. “This was such a cool job. I got to talk to all of the merchandisers, feel all the materials and make decisions to make sure that if we put our emblem on it, it wouldn't warp or anything like that.”

How did this experience impact your career trajectory?

Megan says these experiences expanded her comfort zone and career aspirations: "It really helps me be able to take up jobs that are a little out of my comfort level, but I know I could do them, because I've had this hands-on experience."

Importantly, her Rize courses introduced her to sustainability concepts in supply chain management, which shaped her long-term career goals. She noted that sustainability within the supply chain is incorporated throughout the courses and that "where sustainability leads, efficiency will follow."

What's next for you?

Megan is studying abroad in Japan next semester for 3-4 months with a guaranteed internship afterward, where she hopes to pursue an opportunity related to business. Long-term, she wants to work in the apparel industry to drive sustainability improvements such as cutting extensive plastic use and ethical manufacturing processes. Her plan is to use the study abroad experience to strengthen her Japanese skills, network, and understand international supply chain operations before pursuing this sustainability-focused career path.