Meet Tiffany Mobley, who started her online MS SCM in the Fall of 2019. Tiffany is a Supervisor at Cummins, a global power technology company and automotive supply chain leader. Tiffany’s also a proud mom of a 9-year-old. When she’s not working or deepening her supply chain knowledge, she loves tapping into her creative side with her son. Recently, they’ve started to learn coding together.
What aspect of the program was the most appealing as you considered enrolling?
- The flexibility, no question. I am a full time employee. And I’m also a single parent. So, having a week’s time to figure out how to balance my work — home versus school — that flexibility has helped me a lot. I appreciate that I can do it from anywhere. If I don’t have time to make it home before class, I can pull up the class on my phone and attend it from anywhere.
What do you look forward to the most?
- I most look forward to the Live Sessions. I’m a people person, so I like to interact with my peers. And the Live Sessions allow me to see the people that I email with all the time. It’s nice to put names to faces. In many classes, we are assigned group work. Right now, in one course that I’m taking, my group members and I are always in touch. We will text each other, we’ll call each other, we will do Zoom chats outside of class. So that connection is something I definitely appreciate.
If you were to recommend this program to a colleague, what would you say?
- I highly recommend this program. It’s extremely organized. The staff is personable and responsive, and the tools required for courses are easy to use. The curriculum is relevant and very well prepared. Enrolling has been a blessing, especially being a leader in my role at work. On the job, I have to interact with people all over the place, in all different types of functions. So sharpening my supply chain knowledge comes in handy ALL the time.
Do you wish you’d enrolled earlier?
- Absolutely. Had I known how seamlessly this program would fit into my work/life balance, I wouldn’t have waited. While I’ve always worked in this realm, I wasn’t always under the supply chain umbrella. If I had enrolled earlier, it would have helped me to have better, more meaningful conversations and add more value in previous roles that I had. I’ve only been in a leadership role now for about four or five years. However, if I had acquired this deeper knowledge of supply chain sooner, I probably would have progressed faster.
How do you think your company will directly benefit from your experience?
- Supply chain is relevant to just about every company. For me, the MS SCM has allowed me to connect the dots. There are a lot of meetings and processes that I’m involved in; before joining this program, I’d have to play catch up after certain meetings. But with the reinforcement and foundation the program has provided, I feel much more confident diving into those types of conversations now.
If someone is on the fence about participating, why would you recommend they go for it?
- The people. My classmates are great and the staff shows such interest in ensuring preparedness throughout the program. The professors at UT all work together to create the curriculum. They collaborate with each other a lot and have similar expectations. As a student, it feels good to know that they’re all in alignment, so I know what to expect going forward. The last thing I’ll say is this: If I — a full time professional and single mother of a young child who completed undergrad over 11 years ago in an unrelated field — can be successful through determined hard work and the support of my professors and classmates, so can you!
If you’re looking to deepen your knowledge of supply chain in a program that’s flexible and designed for professionals with other pressing responsibilities, learn more about UT Haslam’s online MS SCM application process.