Maria Vivas Trujillo
After visiting a well-known manufacturing company in her senior high school year, Maria Trujillo decided to pursue a career in industrial engineering. Thanks to her academic performance, Maria awarded two scholarships to attend college. She graduated in 2011 as an Industrial Engineering major being in the top 30% of her class. Right before graduation, Maria interned in the company that had inspired her to become an industrial engineer. “That experience was a great opportunity for me to learn about process improvements and operations, as well as how small changes can cause huge improvements in a company’s results,” she says. After her graduation, Maria worked in different roles related to process standardization, supply chain and distribution, and production planning for five years in Cali, Colombia.
In 2016, she moved to Atlanta with a goal of pursuing a master’s degree in the United States. She found the MS in Supply Chain Management offered by the Department of Managerial Sciences especially attractive because this program meets her professional goals with the opportunity for her to learn from professionals and activities outside the classroom. Additionally, the program offers both supply chain management and analytics courses, a combination that fits her background and career objectives. “My experience with the MGS program has improved my decision-making ability by learning new tools or new ways to apply what I learned. Also, the program is so integral that it gives you the confidence to take your career to the next level,” Maria says.
During her study at GSU, Maria also worked as a graduate teaching assistant for the Business Analysis course. She was awarded a Certificate of Recognition for outstanding teaching performance in Spring 2019. In addition, she received the Carl A. Bramlette, Jr. Scholastic Achievement Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement from the Manager Sciences Department in April 2019.
Maria recently accepted an offer at McCain Foods USA Inc. With her first role as Production Supervisor, she is eager to apply the knowledge and skills gained from the academic program and prior work experience to improve its operations.