December 17, 2022 — The Master of Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics program (MSCTL) has named first-year student Julio Fuentes (MSCTL ’24) as recipient of the $5,000 2022 Matson Diversity in Supply Chain Scholarship, selected from this year’s pool of applicants for admission.
Julio started his transportation engineering career in Mexicali, a U.S.-Mexico border city and hub for manufacturing and export services.
Supply chain is in Julio’s blood, he says. As a child, Julio was first introduced to the scene while on the road as a “copilot” for his father, who owned and operated a commercial truck.
Julio’s experience as his dad’s copilot later developed into a supply chain career. He started in the industry as a border agent on the U.S.-Mexico border. Seeing the bilateral trading of goods and shipments across many ports of entry along the border struck his interest and opened up new possibilities.
He later worked for a 3PL, transporting materials between vehicle part manufacturers in Mexico City and truck dealerships in Portland, Oregon. Now Julio is responsible for pulling tanks from rail and ports and scheduling a fleet of owner-operators and company drivers as a transportation dispatch manager.
We connected with Julio to discuss the award and enrolling in the program.
SCTL: What do you enjoy about working in the supply chain and logistics industry?
Julio: The industry is a complex, from country to country, from region to region, from intermodal location to a final depot, and finally reaching the customer,. There are so many different ways to ship, deal, import, and export, even though the ultimate goal is the same. It is an interesting challenge to have so many options to solve to a supply chain issue and move goods around the world.
SCTL: What aspects of the MSCTL program are you looking forward to?
Julio: I’m looking forward to expanding my knowledge in supply chain and logistics, specifically distribution, and preparing myself to advance in the dynamic logistics industry.
SCTL: What made you decide to apply to MSCTL?
Julio: When I moved to Oregon five years ago, I started looking for opportunities to enrich my knowledge on trade locally in the Pacific Northwest and in different areas of commerce and freight. I researched several schools and this program was the best fit with its flexibility, online mode, the courses I will be taking, and the cohort model. It fits my background and knowledge and will help me gain confidence and a full understanding of the supply chain from end to end..
SCTL: What are your plans for after you earn your degree?
Julio: I hope to keep growing in my career in intermodal. I would love to expand my knowledge of rail and ports and to be able to contribute more to operational planning, business development, and customer retention.
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About the Master of Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics degree program: A work-compatible hybrid online program, the Master of Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics (MSCTL) degree is designed to enable early- and mid-career professionals to advance in their careers. Our innovative curriculum provides students with a 360-degree view of all aspects of supply chain and logistics — facility design, inventory management, data analysis, risk, IT systems, business strategy, freight transport, and performance management — so students graduate ready to make evidence-based decisions and navigate complex real-world problems.