National Career Development Month: Harvey Howarth
Tell us about yourself!
My name is Harvey Howarth and I currently work for VWR, part of Avantor, as a Supplier Operations Specialist. In short, my responsibilities are to help maintain the quality logistical performance of our 10,000+ vendors/suppliers throughout our North American Network. Additionally, I’m involved in projects that oversee Inventory management.
How do you plan to continue your professional growth?
I plan to continue my professional growth by constantly pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Whether it be accepting daunting projects or working in unfamiliar fields, new experiences are always great learning lessons, even in failure. Additionally, being open to learning new information and techniques is vital when it comes to expanding a career and creating new opportunities. I’ve already had multiple experiences where I was able to utilize a new business software/tool, or use a business analysis method I learned at Smeal, and it yielded great results and new opportunities at work.
What was the biggest success/challenge you faced going from college to your job?
The biggest success was navigating the job transition during the pandemic in a way to me that felt successful. Communicating with companies solely online was something I was not accustomed to, and I was worried that I wouldn’t find the right fit/experience that I was looking for without that face-to-face interaction. I went through the new virtual recruiting career fair process (Brazen) and tried my best to make a genuine connection with the companies I spoke to. At first, I was excited to interview with some super interesting companies that everyone has heard of, but unfortunately the interview process taught me that culture is a massive determinant for how a company functions and whether it’s a right fit for you. After briefly researching Avantor I decided to enter their chat room and fortunately I met my now supervisor*, Kevin Mertz. After a few discussions I got the impression that their internships were exactly what I was looking for, and even though it was remote, I was still able to work at their impressive distribution centers occasionally and see first-hand what makes complex supply chains function. I’m so happy I took that internship.*
What aspects of Avantor caused you to choose to return full time? What values of the company stood out to you?
Three words, Trust, People, and Desire. To be fair, the three are all interrelated in some way but here we go. Trust- When I began my internship, I thought the problem I was given was incredibly straightforward and that I’d have a solution way before the deadline. One week in I felt the complete opposite and that the task at hand was impossible! If it weren’t for the trust that my supervisor, Kevin Mertz, had in me to get my work done with whatever creative means necessary than I would not have had the same outcome. Rather than funneling me through a step-by-step corporate system, his trust enabled me to take the time and effort to think outside of the box and learn new software that ended up being incredibly rewarding for both my project and the company. I was even able to collaborate with some Penn State supply chain professors who ended up being incredibly helpful as well. People- I cannot understate how forward everyone I worked with was at wanting to help me achieve my goals. Whether it be the material handlers and packagers in the distribution centers, or the executives’ multiple steps above me in the corporate ladder, everyone genuinely cared about working with me and helping me get to where I needed to be. Even though It was technically a solo project, It never felt that way. Lastly, Desire- and in short, the desire to do good work. Plain and simple. It was clear that no matter what someone was working on, they understood that at the end of the day whatever they’d be turning in had their name on it and they wanted to do whatever it was to the best of their ability. I loved that culture and it certainly helped enable me to get the most out of my internship and want me to stay on full time after graduation.
What is the most important risk you’ve taken and why?
The most important risk I’ve taken was deciding to study abroad in Valencia for my final semester at Penn State. Study abroad was always something I wanted to experience during my time in college and living through the peak of the pandemic made accomplishing that difficult. Semester after semester the program I wanted to do would get canceled and as a result my best opportunity was to go during my final semester. Before going, I was still interning for Avantor part time as a student, which I recommend to everyone to try and do, and I was also still trying to squeeze in all the correct credits I needed to graduate with both my majors, Supply chain and Spanish. There was certainly a risk that the program would be canceled, and my course scheduling would fall through, and/or that I’d be damaging my relationship with the company and even with those close to me in my personal life. However, it all worked out for the best. I was able to continue my remote internship and even connected with the company’s European offices in Barcelona and Brussels. My courses were incredibly interesting and satisfied my graduation requirements. I even ended up making some great friends whom I’m still in contact with now, and some of which I’m running a Travel Consulting startup with on the side. Shameless plug- check us out on Instagram @global.travel.adventure . Greater the risk, greater the reward.
What do you feel you took most from Penn State to your current role?
The ability to collaborate with others effectively cannot be understated. Every Penn State course I took had a focus on working with others around you, and even if there was a person that didn’t pull their weight, it taught great lessons in knowing how to work with different people and how to get the most of each other to achieve a common goal.
From my short time working in the professional world so far, I’ve learned that the biggest obstacle between any problem and the solution, is asking the right person the right questions.
What is your dream job if you had no limitations?
Oof this is the big one. I’ve always had an interest in becoming an entrepreneur that creates something that serves good, not only to investors and employees, but also to the world. It’s a thin line when it comes to optimizing business needs while also serving the planet in the best way possible, but I believe that with the education I received at Penn State, the connections I’ve made, and my sheer ambition and ideas, that I’ll be able to create companies with this mission at its core. Companies like Patagonia, Allbirds, and Impossible Foods have always been a source of inspiration of mine when it comes to achieving this goal, and I hope one day, one day soon, that I take that leap into a venture of my own.
