Julian Squire
Hometown: Mableton, GA
High School and Grad year: Campbell High School class of 2022
Management Major with an area of emphasis in Supply Chain Management
Julian Squire, a supply chain management major for Milton, started asking questions about the supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now he wants to shape the future of supply chain management.
Why did you decide to come to UGA and the Terry College of Business?
As a child, I saw that all the adults I knew went or were going to UGA. Right there, I knew I wanted to go to the school. It is the only school I applied to. I chose Terry College because, in my research, I found Terry is the most renowned college at UGA.
What made you decide to focus on supply chain management?
During the pandemic, I worked at Walmart in the back room. I used to unload the trucks every day, and I’d see thousands of boxes of paper towels, cleaning chemicals … just everything. When one day you see a certain amount of paper towels, and the next day you see a different number of paper towels, it puts the idea in your head: ‘Who orders that? Who’s the mastermind behind it, who knows what we need?’
Seeing the limited order of things like masks or gloves made me wonder why suppliers weren’t pushing them out as fast as they could. I originally wanted to do finance but quickly fell out of love with it after my first couple of months at UGA. I then decided supply chain was the way to go.
What do you do when you’re not in class? How have those experiences shaped your goals and how you approach problems?
I play a lot of basketball and soccer in places like the Ramsey Student Center. Playing pick-up and intramural sports is a great way for me to stay active and relieve stress. It’s helped me realize the importance of working with a team. At the end of the day, the game cannot be won by just one person.
If everyone is working together, it creates multiple sources of strength. This is why it is important to work well with your team whether it is in an office or on a field.
What did you do this summer? Can you tell me how your internship experience changed your outlook as you returned to class this fall?
I worked as a freight broker intern at Werner Enterprises. This job focused on developing logistics solutions for customers moving freight while trying to create the best routes possible for the drivers.
The biggest thing I learned about the working world is the importance of proactivity. What I mean by this is going on to the next step and being open with communications. Whether it’s your boss or the customer, telling someone something — either positive or negative — is much better than them finding out. Knowing this now, I am much better at communicating what is going on around me.
You’re involved with the Supply Chain Advisory Board. How has that impacted your time at Terry and your plans after graduation?
SCAB (Supply Chain Advisory Board) has been a source of companionship and professional support. It has provided me with a plethora of opportunities to bolster my network with employers. Working with the professional members of the board has built my professional knowledge and confidence by offering advice and support. It has impacted my time at Terry because it offers me the confidence that what I’m learning in school will help me land a great job after graduation and thrive in that job. I know the leader of the board, Marty Parker, wants all students on the board to have great jobs coming out of college.
What class or teacher made the biggest impact on how you see the world or your plans after graduation?
The teacher with the biggest impact on how I see the world is Jason Epstein, who was my professor for my Legal and Regulatory Environment of Business course. The class was great, but he specifically made the class very enjoyable. While learning about the law, he made every lecture tailored to us as students. It showed me just how applicable every law is to everything we do.
What is your most memorable UGA memory?
My most memorable UGA memory is going downtown after UGA won the National Championship for the second time. I have never seen so many joyous people in one spot. Everyone I knew was there and the camaraderie with even those I did not know was amazing. Everyone was happy and hyped. It was an amazing atmosphere.
You have family in Georgia and Germany. How did growing up with an international family impact how you think the global supply chain connects people and countries?
Growing up in an international household was the biggest blessing I got in my life. Being able to speak three languages has opened the door to communicating with billions more people on this Earth. This greatly impacts my business life. I feel like I’ll be able to open the horizons for many companies as someone who studies supply chain and can communicate with people internationally.
It is all thanks to my mom, who taught me German before I learned English. Having these different mindsets also allows me to one, learn new languages more easily like I did with Spanish, and two, think about issues from multiple perspectives and how people from other countries would go about solving the issues.