Lindsay Schilleman MBA’17: A Day in the Life

Lindsay Schilleman is a 2017 NC State Jenkins MBA alumna and Supply Chain Analyst at VF Corp. In this third installment of our “Day in the Life” Series — outlined below — Lindsay shares her thoughts and experiences on choosing supply chain as a field of study at NC State, the perks of working in supply chain, and what’s necessary to be successful in her field.

Taking risks

“I played softball growing up and — I heard this not too long ago actually at a talk — no batting average is perfect. In fact, in the major leagues, 300 is really good. That means that you didn’t get on base seven out of ten times, but you did get on base three out of ten times. I have to not be afraid to go up and try and strike out. Sometimes, it is going to be the best idea, and sometimes it is going to be what’s best for our company.”

The importance of transferable skills

“It’s important to have transferable skills because you never know where your career will take you. You never know who you’ll meet. You don’t want to have just technical skills in one area; you want to be able to transfer those skills and apply them to any different area of your career.”

Lindsay’s experience as a supply chain scholar

“My experience as a Supply Chain Scholar was really incredible. I had the chance to work with Caterpillar and I got to work with the SCRC to publish a report quantifying the impact of the supply chain in all of North Carolina.”

Choosing Supply Chain Management

“I decided to study supply chain management because I had always had an accounting background and a finance background, and I decided that, honestly, I didn’t want to sit in a cubicle all the time. I wanted something more hands-on. I wanted to be able to see how a product is made and get more involved with the process.”

Unique experiences working in Supply Chain Management

[Going through belongings from work trips made for VF Corp]: “This is a packet of all of my tickets that I have from all my travels. So I have my boarding passes, I have my bag tags — this ticket was literally a life-changing ticket; this was from the city I was staying in for an audit in Cambodia, where I had a bunch of life-changing experiences. I was able to see Angkor Wat by myself, and I met a woman who had never left her hometown.”

Think and Do

“What does ‘Think and Do’ mean to me? To learn, empower, and initiate.”