Interview with Josh Valia

November 2021

Hello, my name is Josh Valia, and I am a senior in the TOM department here at Cal Poly Pomona

After graduation, I plan on working in Supply Chain most likely here in Southern California.

I am currently still interviewing for positions next year, but I have offers from Walgreens and PepsiCo, I want to keep as many options as possible open to find the right position and situation for me.

I absolutely love the supply chain field. As you’re probably aware, there are many issues facing the global supply chain industry and that means there are a lot of opportunities. My experience comes at the Distribution Center level, but as the industry expands and transforms, I am certain there will be many opportunities in all levels of the supply chain. In the future, I would love to work in a position that gives me the ability to travel internationally.

This past summer, I interned for Walgreen’s Supply Chain division at their Moreno Valley Distribution Center. My internship consisted of a 10-week project to increase pallet location control efficiency and forklift driver movement within the 700,000+ square feet DC. My project resulted in an 11% increase in driver production and an annual $300,000 projected cost savings per distribution center within the Walgreens network. It also won the Most Creative Intern Project Award as voted on by senior Supply Chain Executives. I had fantastic experience interning at Walgreens and getting actual experience in the field has opened many doors for me.

Advice

If I had any advice for students looking for internships it would be to apply for anything that interests you, even if you may not have the necessary requirements. It can be difficult to get accepted to an internship, if you submit 100 applications you may only get 10 interviews, and from that maybe one offer. It really is a numbers game when it comes to applying, so just apply to anything that you think you would be a great experience for you.