Supply Chain Management program draws alumni together

by Shay Carroll

Graduation is a time of new beginnings, but for four College of Business alumni, life after graduation has also been a time to reconnect with other Falcons. More than 500 miles southeast of Bowling Green, that’s just what happened to supply chain management alumni Amy Correll ‘04, Jason Cavalieri ’05, Curtis Hawse ’05 and Justin Parker ‘06.

Today, all four work for Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina; Parker, Cavalieri and Hawse work in global procurement, while Correll works in supply chain operations and vendor management. They interact almost daily.

Correll and Parker were the first to join Bank of America in 2005 and 2006, respectively, followed by Cavalieri and Hawse in 2014. The latter two alumni had stayed in casual contact after graduation and reconnected during the interviewing process, but they didn’t know about Correll or Parker until after they were hired.

It didn’t take long for the four of them to realize their shared background. Hawse said it was while he was on an elevator with Amy Correll that they had what he described as “that ‘I know you from somewhere’ moment.” The common link was BGSU, they quickly realized.

The alumni shared college memories like favorite instructors – Janet Hartley, Karen Eboch and Amelia Carr. Beyond the memories, though, they reflected on what a BGSU education has meant to their careers.  

“The professors encouraged us to think differently and showed us how to break down complex challenges into smaller pieces to better influence and manage large-scale change,” Cavalieri explained. Correll agreed, saying that the supply chain management program is what attracts top companies like Bank of America.

Parker emphasized the value of BGSU’s internships which helped him build the functional skills he needed to be successful post-graduation. “My education gave me a diverse set of both business and supply chain skills which allowed me to quickly come up the learning curve when I began my career.”

Hawse added that the supply chain management program connected the classroom to real-life experiences, which provided him with a huge advantage in his professional life. “I strongly believe that the graduates of the SCM program from BGSU are some of the best in the industry and will continue to do great things to represent BGSU and the SCM program for years to come.”