2020 Graduates
Supply Chain and Operations Management
Dear Graduating Seniors: Let me congratulate you all on your successful graduation from Miami University and the Farmer School of Business! The COVID-19 crisis has been an unprecedented challenge, but in true Miami fashion, you have risen to the occasion with alacrity, good cheer, and aplomb. As we say of our FSB graduates, you are truly “Beyond Ready!” Although it’s from a (safe, social) distance, please allow me to indulge in the usual ritual of passing along some clichéd wisdom to graduates ready to start life’s next chapter: Trust your gut. Rely on data, the facts, and in those who have earned your trust, but always be tuned in to that little inside voice. Sometimes your instincts will sound the alarm when all appears otherwise to be well. Extra scrutiny in some situations might save you a lot of headaches later. Luckily, this is an instinct that should become sharper with experience and time. Scratch that itch. If an idea keeps bubbling to the top of your mind, at some point, give it some serious consideration. We often find ourselves drawn to certain activities or organizations over and over again. In my case, I was drawn to the “training” aspect of every job I held, always wanting to be the one at the front of the class and helping others learn. I scratched this “itch” by taking a leap of faith on a full-time graduate program where it was “possible” I could get a job as a professor when it was done. Fourteen years later, and it’s one of the best chances I ever took. Once in a lifetime opportunities come along about every six months. Your talents and education will result in multiple “offers” soon in your career – opportunities for a new job, a new location, a great investment, etc. Weigh them carefully, and choose wisely. Above all else, don’t despair if you think you passed on the “one.” As the opening sentence of this paragraph implies, life is full of opportunities, and there are many paths to a life well-lived. It has been an honor to serve as your Department Chair during your time here at Miami. Go forth, and fly high. I look forward to hearing about all the wonderful ways in which you will impact our world. Love and Honor, Bryan
Seniors! Well this is not how anybody expected to end their time here at Miami University! I certainly would never have imagined this.That’s the bad news. The good is that we will get past it and things will be as you want to remember very soon. We might be wearing masks but what the heck. Even that will pass in time. The better news is that you will not be judged or remember things based upon what happened these last few weeks but rather how we collectively and you individually dealt with the things that happened. We got up, we changed, we continued, and we will eventually be much better for it. Will you be able to say the same individually? Obviously that is up to you and a function of the choices you make and the actions that you take. I am confident that we have given you the tools, theories, and ideas to make th at happen. I wouldn’t bet against any of you. In any case, be thankful. Make a point to thank your parents, grandparents, and all the people who supported you financially and otherwise during the time you were here. That done, be proud and beat your chest a bit (you’ve earned it) and then go do great things. Be humble. Make sure to come back and see us and hire more just like yourselves. Be generous. Don’t hangup when caller ID says it’s the alumni association! Be a forward thinker. Many of those who came before you were be hind the curtain helping you more than you know. Now it’s your turn to pay it forward when you can! Finally, not getting the sendoff you deserve this spring sucks. The powers that be will try and do something as soon as we can, be it the fall, or whenever it’s possible. When that does happen, make every effort to attend it. You deserve it. When you are coming, call me up. Even if we can just say hello! But if you have the time, the first beer (or two!) is on me. Make it a great day! Rocky Newman
To our 2020 Supply Chain Management Grads! Congratulations to your graduation!  You have made thus far in your academic endeavor and now are ready step out of the school to embark on a new chapter of your life. I have had a great pleasure spending time with some of you in the classroom and those wonderful moments will always be with me. I am sorry that, due to the current event, we are unable to see each other in the grand commencement at the school. But please have a great celebration with your family and loved ones. I wish you have an exciting career. Please stay safe and healthy. Looking forward to seeing you at some point in the future. Best, John Ni
Congratulations to the Supply Chain and Operations Management graduating class of 2020! I have thoroughly enjoyed those of you who I was lucky enough to have in my classes and I truly appreciated the opportunity to get to know those of you who were active in the SCMA. While it might seem that the world has turned upside down, please make sure you celebrate this great achievement with your family and friends. I wish you nothing but the best going forward – please be sure to keep in touch!
Pete Salzarulo
To the 2020 SCM Grads: Congratulations on this major milestone! You each have accomplished so much to arrive at this point. More importantly, there are many wonderful opportunities ahead of you. Take some time and celebrate with those that have loved and supported you through this journey. While this was not the way any of us hoped this semester would end up, you have all persevered and thrived in these uncertain times. On the positive side, you will always have stories to tell your kids about how you finished college under lockdown in the pandemic of 2020! I graduated from Miami’s SCM program a number of years ago and I hope you found your experiences as rewarding as I did. My hope is that you also make of the most of all the opportunities SCM can provide as so many Miami grads have before you. I wish you all the best in achieving a great career, and more importantly, a fulfilling life!
Matt Schwieterman
To the class of 2020: Those of you who have had me in class know I challenged you to change the world. I wanted you to take that seriously in class, but from this point on you have both more responsibility and more freedom to do that. So, this is my send off to you, whether we knew each other personally or not: seek wisdom. In America, we often measure success based on salary or popularity. However, those with wisdom would tell you that neither of those guarantee a full life. Questions of meaning and morality are not easily answered, let alone measured. My hope is that we have provided you a base from which to ask those questions and seek those deeper answers. Remember to continue to seek teachers that can guide you beyond curriculum and grades (grades were never really important anyway). Ask those you think are wise what anchors them – what are the cornerstones of their existence. Any sage will tell you that they learned more outside the walls of a classroom than within them. As for your journey, I do not wish you success in everything you do. Instead, I hope that you try to accomplish things that are far enough outside your reach that you will fail sometimes. If you never fail, you never find the limits of your potential. Make goals that are bigger than you can accomplish. For some of you, finishing college was a goal like that, and this is the proof that you have more inside you than you initially believed. For others of you, college was a period of growth, and a stepping stone to the next challenge. In either case, what comes next matters more. I hope that you take strength from your time in Oxford and add wisdom to that in order to make an impact. The world is broken. It almost always has been. And there is still a lot of work to be done. You were created with unique passions and strengths. Hopefully, your time at Miami has revealed and honed those into motivations and tools that can work to bring more Love and Honor to a broken world. With great hope, Chris Welter
VIDEO MESSAGES
Bachelor of Science in Business Nicholas Alexander Adams Blair E Arnell Nicholas Keith Arnold Garrett C Askew Justin H Banzuly Ryan David Bengel Emily R Biondo Jeffrey Brand Samantha Lee Brattland Lindsey Christine Buehl Riley Marie Christianson Anna Pearl Clark Matthew John Collins Johnathon Mason Conner Samuel Kenneth Consolo Kelsey Rose D'Aries Jesse Denny Scott Edward Dlugos Zhaohui Dong Patrick Michael Donovan Megan E Dunlop John L Dzurec Jeffrey Ethan Eidelman Charles Richard Evans Michael Vincent Femia Andrew William Fick Samuel Louis Fletcher Alec T Gibbs Cameron James Green Kristofer Michael Gulvezan Jeffrey Carter Hall William Zeller Hanson Audrey Lynn Hazelbaker Rachel Marie Hickerson Kaleigh Nicole Holcomb Shuyue Hu Zhaocen Hu (Graduating August 2020) Haishan Huang Ming Jiang
Elizabeth L Jordan Kevin Patrick Kelliher Savannah M Kluesner Alexis Kay Kunar Jamie Ann Leonhardt Mai Li Cameron H Lombardi Kailey Sandra Lyon Alexander Witherston Michael Conner Matthew Newton David Bryan O'Connor Chad Mark Pennington Deanna N Ponzani Alexander Richard Ray Molly Helena Riebau Heather Lynn Roberson Tyler Sabath Matthew R Santora Tyler S Schmitz Christopher Nelson Shackleton Wanbin Shao Kevin John Sheedy Caroline G Skaggs Samuel M Stewart Morgyn Elizabeth Stover Christopher John Stoy Zhuo Sun Sarah Elizabeth Taylor Elizabeth Gates Test Joseph M Thomas Eaint Myet Thwe Jacob Matthew Tomcko Rebecca Ellen Torrisi Zachary Steven Vanderink Jacob Andrew Wehr Austin Jacob Wolf Trevor Joseph Zagara Junli Zhu Michael James Zonno