Polk State’s first Supply Chain Management baccalaureate grads turn experience into advancement

Polk State College is celebrating its graduates who are the first to complete the Bachelor of Applied Science in Supervision and Management with a Supply Chain Management concentration.

Angelina Aponte, Lilet Cross, Ashley Daigle, Peter Tong and Kevin Lott all enrolled in the program with backgrounds in warehouses, but now they are all forging their own paths in the world of supply chain with the practical tools and real-world connections they have gained in Polk State’s program.

‘Real-world, lifelong connections’

Aponte has years of experience in inventory management and warehouses. She began her supply chain career as an inventory clerk with Joyson Safety Systems, organizing a major project shipping entire production lines overseas. When the company closed, she joined DHL as an inventory supervisor.

About a year later, she enrolled in the Associate in Science in Supply Chain Management Program at Polk State to advance into management. She was promoted just a month after starting classes and remained in management for three years before transitioning to an inside sales administrator role at an electrical distribution company.

When she completed her AS degree, she was already advancing through hands-on experience and the bachelor’s degree as a pathway to further career growth. She credits the program’s embedded certifications with strengthening her skills and resume, leading to her current role as a purchasing agent for Highland Homes.

The biggest takeaway, however, is the mentors she gained along the way.

“The professors are very well known in the supply chain industry, and I can text them and they will help any one of us,” Aponte explained. “They have written me letters of recommendation, they have given me advice and they have taught me how to be stronger with my voice.

“I’m not just leaving here with a degree,” she said. “I’m leaving here with real-world, life-long connections, and those are invaluable.”

Limitless opportunities

For Daigle, it’s not about the degree either. She has a well-established career as Senior Procurement Manager for Saddle Creek Logistics.

“My career progressed faster than my schooling,” she explained. “Getting my degree is more for personal achievement.”

But being both a student and in the role professionally presented her with unique perspectives and opportunities.

“I would find myself learning and explaining,” she said. “At work, I have used concepts and theories I have learned in the classroom, and then in class I am able to bring my professional experience to my peers and help them see what it’s like in real-life practice.”

She aspires to be a vice president one day.

“With a degree, the opportunities really feel limitless,” Daigle said. “With the concepts you learn in the program, you can be a warehouse supervisor, or you can go all the way into an executive role. There is a lot of variety in what you can do with a supply chain management degree.”

‘Aha’ moment

Tong says the program has opened his eyes to the complexity and interconnected nature of supply chain.

As a veteran of the U.S. Army, Tong aspired to move up in his career and achieve a college degree to better understand business and operations.

“I believed that supply chain was fairly straightforward,” he said. “Well, that thought didn’t last long.”

“The more I learned in my courses, everything began to click for me,” he explained. “How everything is connected to one another. How a simple tomato from a farm to a bottle of ketchup requires sourcing, transportation, processing, quality control and distribution.”

He quickly realized he had more to gain in the program than he may have thought.

“That was my ‘aha’ moment,” Tong said. “There is a system behind everything, and those systems can be designed to operate more efficiently and effectively through better technology and decision-making. That’s what hooked me and why I want to be a consultant, helping organizations solve problems and design better systems.”

‘I did it for my kids’

Lott added that the program provides students with skills related to leadership principles, inventory management and procurement.

“Polk State has truly prepared me for my new role,” said Lott, who has worked for Publix for 13 years, starting in a warehouse. In February, he was promoted to production planner.

“I would suggest to anyone with a background like the one I came from who is looking to get promoted and do better for themselves – come to Polk State.”

When Polk State canceled $1.2 million in student debt in 2021, Lott took it as a sign to re-enroll and advance his education.

“I did it for my kids,” he said. “I did it so that I wouldn’t have to work two or three jobs to make ends meet. I love working for Publix. I’m learning a lot. I’m training a lot. And it is because Polk State allowed me that opportunity to come back, get my degree and open the door to the next step in my career.”

Supply chain management has not only impacted their lives; it impacts the lives of everyone every day, they explained.

“Supply chain is more than meets the eye – it’s applicable to all aspects of business and life,” Daigel said.

“There is a supply chain in everything,” Aponte added.

“It’s thinking through logistics – it can be complicated and it can be easy,” Tong said.

“It’s connecting people and product,” Lott explained. “It’s about building connections, and we’ve done that here at Polk State.”