Business faculty, student organizations, and internships jumpstarted alum’s successful supply chain career

Jamie Hoke ’10 graduated with many valuable experiences from the College of Business (CBA), along with an impressive list of accolades honoring her dedication as a business student at BGSU. She credits the College for laying the foundation for a highly-successful supply chain career.

Since graduating six years ago, Hoke served in several supply chain management roles at John Deere in Iowa and Illinois, where she also interned twice as a student. Last March, she joined Cardinal Health in Dublin, Ohio, as the global sourcing manager in the Consumer Health group. “My primary responsibilities are to negotiate and manage contracts for the distribution services that we provide to manufacturers/vendors of Consumer Health products.”  

Hoke adds, “My role at Cardinal Health is very exciting and engaging; each day is very different! One of the most challenging and dynamic things about working with vendors is understanding what is valuable or important in a negotiation because it varies from company to company. A large portion of my time is spent learning about the healthcare industry and about the specific businesses and products of the vendors that I negotiate with. I get to learn something new every day!”

Hoke credits the BGSU business program for helping to launch her successful career. “The CBA does a fantastic job of providing curriculum to set a strong foundation and offering extracurricular activities to get students engaged outside the classroom. I was involved in the student organization of APICS/ISM (now the Supply Chain Management Association) throughout college, which enriched my CBA experience. I was able to participate in case competitions, travel to conferences, and take a trip to Italy with nine other students and two faculty members to learn about Italian manufacturing, education and history.”  

According to Hoke, the opportunities helped expand her network and allowed her to explore the many industries and careers accessible to business students.

During her college career, Hoke earned numerous recognitions, including the College of Business’s Karl Vogt Outstanding Senior Award and the prestigious R. Gene Richter Scholarship, given to a small, select group of the country’s top supply chain students each year.

In support of her academic efforts and extracurricular activities, Hoke is thankful to the Department of Management faculty and staff. “This group was extremely dedicated to ensuring the CBA experience of each student was as rich and fulfilling as possible. From the APICS/ISM activities, to the opportunity to network with companies at the Supply Chain Management Institute dinner, to advice on job interviews, scholarship applications, or just life in general, I couldn’t have asked to be surrounded by a better and more caring group of faculty and staff.”

Hoke sees a promising future for supply chain management job prospects. “There is increasing pressure on companies to reduce costs and create efficiencies, and supply chain functions are essential to those initiatives.”  

The BGSU alumna says that having an internship was instrumental to her success so far.  “I believe that completing internships during college lessens the learning curve for graduates when they enter the full-time workforce. During an internship, a student will learn business acumen that only comes from experience outside of a classroom, as well as accountability for meaningful projects that impact that bottom line of the company. Many companies look to their existing pool of interns to transition into open full-time positions, so it’s advantageous for students to get their feet in the door early.”

To assist students in finding an internship, the procurement professional advises students to go to the job fairs, even as early as their freshman year, like she did. Hoke states, “I was over the initial shock and nerves of attending a job fair for the first time. The practice paid off, and during my sophomore year, I interviewed with seven companies and received five internship offers.”

Additional advice Hoke gives to students is to get involved with the college as early as possible and stay involved even after graduating. “I remain an active part of the CBA since graduating, and serving as an engaged alumni has become a passion of mine. I led the John Deere-BGSU recruiting team and hired many BGSU students into summer internship positions, helped facilitate and organize alumni events in my area, and have served on the College of Business Young Alumni Board for over two years. The connections that I’ve made to BGSU students, employees and alumni are such an exciting part of my life, and I am so excited to be back in Ohio to be closer to this great Falcon network!”