Hometown Heroes: Smeal Senior Award Winners Get Their Start Locally

When Sydney Asencio was attending State College Area High School over four years ago, she was unsure of where her interest in business would take her. 

She took accounting courses and a social media marketing class before trying out what is called the “Supply Chain Management Pathway,” a program that housed three semesters worth of classes: an introductory class, a secondary class, and an experiential learning component wherein groups of students work with companies to solve real business problems. 

That third course, sponsored by the Center of Supply Chain Research®, gave her the hands-on experience she needed. While working with L Brands, the parent company of Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works, her team was tasked with finding solutions for streamlined distribution.

“Early exposure is extremely beneficial, especially in a field like supply chain where many students know little about the industry,” Asencio shared. “I can certainly credit some of my success to my early exposure with supply chain as I was able to accomplish more with the few years I had at Smeal.”

Recent graduate Asencio is also a John & Anne B. Stevens Academic Integrity Award winner, an honor given to those who demonstrate leadership in academic integrity by serving on a college committee, task force or in a leadership role, dedicated to upholding the Smeal Honor Code and promoting a culture of academic integrity.

And she isn’t the only student whose ambitious endeavors have roots in the pathway program; fellow Smeal 2022 Senior Award winners and recent graduates Katherine Groves and Emily Irvin share their stories as well. 

“I did not realize what an amazing opportunity I had with my high school program until I came to Penn State,” Groves said. “After talking to students, I realized that a lot of people didn’t have opportunities to take different business courses and discover what interested them like I did.”

Grove’s dedication to her supply chain coursework earned her the coveted title of Student Marshal*,* the top student chosen to represent each degree at graduation, for the supply chain major this past spring. 

Irvin is the recipient of the Helen Eakin Eisenhower Award, a prestigious achievement awarded to graduating seniors who have demonstrated scholarship, leadership, character, and service to the Smeal College of Business.

All three women found that the third course in the pathway program, the CSCR student research project, played an intricate role in their career development. Both Asencio and Groves, for example, worked with the aforementioned L Brands to gain real life experience in the supply chain field.

“We visited the local Victoria’s Secret store to hear from employees about difficulties they had with receiving products and then conducted some of our own research; when it came to the final deliverables, we executed a lengthy document outlining our ideas and presented them to the client,” Asencio explained. “When I got to college and experimented with consulting, I was so thankful to already have experience with client relationships. I was able to leverage these skills to produce better results and convey them more effectively!”

Irvin’s team, on the other hand, worked with the renowned grocery brand Wegmans on their cold chain transportation. 

“It gave me great, hands-on experience and taught me how to work with other people in the industry,” Irvin recalled. “It also gave me exposure into what the job looks like, and what I should be expecting in college as well as lifelong friendships.” 

This real world application is a major staple of the third course in the high school pathway program, supported by Robert Novack, CSCR’s Director of Student Research and Outreach, as well as Tracie Shannon, CSCR’s Administrative Director. 

Novack and Shannon work every semester to designate a project suitable for students in the State College High School’s supply chain pathway program that helps them grow their interpersonal, leadership and research skills. 

“I think it’s a great opportunity for high school students to be exposed to supply chain at an earlier age, especially in this day and age,” Shannon said. “We have done many projects around different topics including sustainability, supplier evaluations, the use of drones for pharma deliveries, etc. The projects ultimately give students the perspective they need on all kinds of elements of supply chains whether it be raw materials, manufacturing, distribution – you name it.”

The center is extremely proud of the three graduates who excelled this past year and is pleased to see the research component of the pathway program makes a resounding impact on burgeoning supply chain leaders.

“Being able to take supply chain courses in high school was so helpful to my education; I came to Smeal already knowing that I wanted to study supply chain,” Groves concluded. “I didn’t have to spend as much time in my first few years of college stressing out because I needed to choose a major— and that’s truly a special gift this program gave me.”