January 2026 SCIS & BAIS Student of the Month: Hunter Badamo
The Penn State Smeal Center for Supply Chain Research (CSCR) is proud to highlight high-achieving students in Supply Chain and Information Systems (SCIS) and Business Analytics and Information Systems (BAIS) who are making an impact in their programs with a SCIS & BAIS Student of the Month award. These students are nominated by faculty leaders and selected by a panel of SCIS and BAIS faculty representatives and the CSCR Executive Director.
Hunter Badamo is a fourth-year Smeal student double majoring in Business Analytics & Information Systems (BAIS) and Accounting, along with a minor in History. Badamo is from Pittsburgh, PA, and will return home to begin his full-time career at ALDI as a Project Analyst II upon graduation. Nominated by faculty member Akhil Kumar, Badamo was chosen as the January SCIS & BAIS Student of the Month for his high academic achievements, contributions to the SCIS Department and Smeal, and mentorship of fellow students.What excites you about a career in business analytics?
Abstractly, what excites me about a career in business analytics is its synergy with creativity. I didn't come to college planning to pursue analytics; as a musician and writer, I always saw myself as an exclusively right-brained person, but I learned through Smeal and internships alike that problem-solving and invention are complementary practices. Tangibly, what excites me about pursuing this field is the potential to disrupt. Data reveals information, and information influences decision-making. As the technology keeps progressing, I want to master it and be a part of meaningful change.
What internship or other analytics experience have you gained while at Penn State?
I am currently in my fourth internship with ALDI and will begin my full-time career with the company upon my graduation in the spring. I started with the company in summer 2024 as a Warehouse Operations Intern, learning the nuts and bolts of logistics. My design of a new store supply ordering system and congestion management analytics earned me a position as a remote Warehouse Operations Intern throughout the entirety of my junior year, which culminated in the launch of a dashboard to track the performance of individuals on ALDI's truck-loading business unit. My efforts were adopted into a company-wide implementation of these analytics into the global Tableau cloud. I took a step in a different direction during summer 2025 and completed the District Manager internship, building experience in personnel management. Now, I am a Project Analyst Intern and will assume a Project Analyst II position full-time upon graduation. I use data across ALDI's warehousing ecosystem to help management solve problems and answer questions — I love the combination of business analytics, accounting, and strategy!
What is your favorite part about being a BAIS student at Smeal?
I have two favorite aspects of being a BAIS student: the supportive faculty and wonderful student community. Professors care about the subject and are cognizant of the swift change that our industry constantly undergoes, especially in the last few years. Additionally, as I've begun my thesis research, no faculty members have hesitated to help me out and describe their research experience to me. As for my peers, I've made many friends in my BAIS classes with admirable professional aspirations and a genuine interest in learning about the subject. I could not ask for a better community!
What organizations are you involved in within Smeal and at Penn State?
I've explored many groups at Penn State, not just in Smeal. Upon my entry into Smeal, I was accepted as a member of Sapphire, a leadership program for which I served a Leadership Development Chair position in 2023. In my freshman year, I also interviewed for and was accepted into the Nittany Lion Consulting Group, which in tandem with numerous case competitions was my greatest professional learning experience in college. Case competitions are really special to me — I earned trips to Orlando, Prague, Budapest, and more through a culmination of hard work and amazing teammates. At the end of 2023, I teamed up with two other students and created Penn State Music Group, a Smeal student organization that teaches students about the music industry via workshops, guest speakers, and more. I was the President of PSMG throughout 2024, and it is the most rigorous leadership experience I've had to date. Since then, I've focused on mentoring underclassmen interested in BAIS, completing my thesis, and making music with my band.
How have Smeal and the SCIS Department prepared you to make an impact outside the classroom?
Smeal and the SCIS Department have already helped me make an impact outside the classroom, no doubt. When I was a freshman, faculty in Sapphire and NLCG transformed my proclivity for hard work into leadership positions and case competition placements. When I was a sophomore, Smeal leadership guided me through the establishment of my club and was there for me when we had an ethical leadership issue. When I was a junior, Smeal staff supported and vouched for my team's trip to a case competition in Hungary, in which we earned 2nd place in the IT case. Now, as a senior, department faculty are helping me complete research that I believe is relevant and impactful to my field.
What is your favorite Penn State memory?
My favorite memory has to be the early days of creating Penn State Music Group with my friends. Many late nights were had between forming the idea of the club, planning our events, and networking with any industry folks willing to look our way. It had a "startup" vibe and was really special to me.
What is your favorite creamery ice cream flavor?
My favorite Creamy flavor is definitely Chocolate Pretzel Crunch.
