Student Spotlight: Rayzel Rosales

A Portrait of Student Success

Rayzel Rosales is a recent graduate from the Technology and Operations Management (TOM) Department who was active in the Association of Technology and Operations Management Students (ATOMS) and served as president of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP). The Long Beach native is now an inventory planner for MagTek Inc..

Rosales met with CBA’s Public Affairs Officer Marisa Demers just weeks before graduation to talk about how her education and involvement in extracurricular activities positioned her for success in the job market.

How did you spend your time at Cal Poly Pomona?

Rosales: My first two years at Cal Poly Pomona, I spent mostly focused on my academics. I changed my track about three times from management and human resources to accounting to finally TOM. Once I decided on TOM, I got involved with student peers, found good study groups and got involved in two clubs, both TOM. By the end of my fourth year I decided to run for president of CSCMP and I also obtained an internship.
This year, my fifth year, I have been so busy going to professional conferences, meeting with industry managers to get them to perhaps be a guest speaker or give us grants or donations. We’ve been successful this year in getting three to four speakers a quarter. It’s been a real collaborative effort and I have to say that Vice President Derrick Ong and Secretary/Treasurer Alexander Lang have been instrumental in the organization’s success.

What advice would you give to entering freshmen on getting the most out of the Cal Poly Pomona experience?

Rosales: Don’t be scared that you don’t have anything to start out with. We all have to start out somewhere. The school is so big, it’s easy to think “How am I going to find out what to do with my life?” How will I meet people?” “How am I going to get a job?” When you find your niche you’re going to see that you can develop skills here.

What has been your favorite learn by doing experience?

Rosales: I would have to say our clubs. We organize industry tours where we all carpool and go visit a
warehouse or distribution center. Derrick Ong has done a great job arranging all these tours. He arranged for tours with Coca-Cola and Golden State Foods, which distributes food for large companies like McDonald’s.

These tours greatly complement our coursework. In class, you have a book and you read it, you memorize it and you do a few logistical routing problems. You think, “OK, I get it.” But then you go to the warehouse or distribution center and you get to talk to someone who has been in it for 30 years and that person can give you new insight. You can talk about a conveyance or cross docking in a book but they don’t make sense unless you go see it yourself.

Tell me about your job with MagTek.

Rosales: I manage the inventory and plan the production for MagTek Inc., which manufactures credit card swipers that’s sold to financial institutions such as Wells Fargo, Chase, Bank of America and a lot of small mom and pop stores. In my job, I oversee about 500 components needed to make finished products. I plan to make sure we don’t stock out and also minimize the cost in holding these parts in the warehouse. At a minimum level, I reorder and I procure things and I negotiate with suppliers for a better date and a better price. Sometimes I think of a process where we can sustain or lower our costs, things of that nature.

How did Cal Poly Pomona prepare you for this job?

Rosales: The people skills I obtained from being club president and being in a club definitely helped me with interviewing skills and learning how to meet people. In general, I really think Cal Poly Pomona has helped me greatly in shaping me to be a young professional.