A Broken Chain by Ryan

A Broken Chain by Ryan - December 2023 Scholarship Essay

Three years ago, in the middle of a global pandemic, a simple Zoom interview landed me my first job at an Assisted Living facility. I would be working in the dining room serving meals to the residents.

Three years ago, people were fighting for toilet paper, canned goods, and ground beef. We were inundated with unfamiliar words and terms we had never heard of - synchronous and asynchronous, hybrid learning, social distancing, essential workers, super-spreader, and supply chain to name a few.

The definition of procurement is the process of finding or locating the goods you need, while the supply chain is the infrastructure needed to transport those goods to the consumer.

The Assisted Living facility was not spared from the supply chain issues during the pandemic. Guests’ requests for orange juice or avocado toast often went unfulfilled as we explained that the shipments had just not arrived. The Chef would make-do with what we did receive, but the deficiencies were obvious.

Outside of the kitchen and the dining room, the shortages expanded beyond nutrition; it was difficult for the residents to receive their medication, medical supplies, oxygen, and even masks when needed.

When you are making the difficult decision to place your loved one in an assisted living facility, the furthest thing from your mind at that moment should be supply chain interruptions. There should never be any concern that there may be a shortage of critical medications that could be the difference between a family member living or dying. These thoughts never used to enter anyone’s mind prior to March 2020, but now they are valid concerns. Are we better prepared for another pandemic or a supply chain disruption?

I am currently a freshman at Michigan State University majoring in Supply Chain Management with a minor in Logistics. As we witnessed over those years of the Covid pandemic, the supply chain affects everyone, and we have not seen the end of the shortages. The elderly often are the most vulnerable population that supply issues impact. My career in supply chain management and logistics could bring the potential for global impact through procurement, quality assurance, distribution, and delivery.

I appreciate the opportunity to share a little about myself and my career aspirations.

Sincerely,

Ryan J. Gilliland