John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation

Justin Blake - Management Trainee, Supply Chain (Ryder Corporation)

Justin Blake

"As a management trainee in the Automotive, Aerospace, and Industrial Vertical sections, I will be traveling around the United States in four month increments to be educated in each of Ryder Corporation’s four verticals. I will be involved in equipment management, trip management, employee relations, inbound and outbound planning/coordination, picking/replenishing, shipping and planning, procurement, carrier contracting, freight bill of audit, and supervisory duties.

The job offer I received with Ryder was from a GM Supply Chain Case competition that I competed in with three other colleagues.   This competition was held in Detroit and we competed with schools as far away as Florida State and Colorado State. This competition allowed us to give a presentation in front of the vice president of supply chain for GM; and I think few students are able to say that they gave a presentation in front of a VP of a Fortune 100 company. We were fortunate enough to win this competition and get UT COBI the recognition it deserves.

COBI prepared me for this position with two internships. The first internship that I received was at R.S. Hanline in summer, 2013. I obtained that position through the COBI job fair. Through a rotation of all departments during this internship I was able to see how an entire business was linked together. Through this internship I also learned various Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing Skills that addressed real world problems.

My second internship was at Northwood Industries. I received this Internship from applying through an email from COBI. This internship gave me more experience in lean manufacturing and I was able to see the on-time delivery of our products nearly double from the time that I started until I left.

I enjoyed learning how to deal with various problems that happened in the real world that you cannot replicate in the classroom. For example, when I was in a supervisory role, a machine would go down and I had to get it back up and running as soon as possible to minimize downtime. I enjoyed dealing with these challenges every day, as I was not behind a desk all day and regularly had different tasks.

Actually, COBI has prepared me for this position in more ways that can be listed. Whether it be the etiquette dinners, the power networking or the mock interviews, COBI has taught me how to be professional in every aspect of business. All of the professors that I had were more than happy to meet me after class, or make special arrangements to meet if I needed help on a problem in class. On top of this, most of the professors encourage you to stay in contact after graduation and come to them if you come across a situation that you do not know how to deal with at work, and I do not believe that you would get this at any other University.

I chose The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that the campus was easily better looking than any other campus that I had visited. Another reason is that I received a gracious amount of scholarships that made The University of Toledo the best financial choice. I also asked numerous alumni of The University of Toledo and they always had positive feedback. When adding up all of these positives, The University of Toledo was hands down the best decision for me.

I was a dual major in supply chain management and finance. I first chose finance because I have always loved dealing with numbers and managing money. I chose supply chain management because it is a newer major with endless job opportunities available. Also, supply chain management is about stretching the dollar, which is a great combination with finance.

I would tell someone who is considering studying business at The University of Toledo to give it a shot because of the opportunities that it has presented me as well as my peers. From the time I have been here, I have seen UT COBI climb the rankings as a nationally recognized business program and I only expect that to get better in the future.

Go Rockets!!"

Last Updated: 6/27/22