Saad Hasan
From Neuroscience to Supply Chain
The transition from my undergraduate degree in Neuroscience at UTD to the MS Supply Chain Management program required creativity. Neuroscience is an examination of interconnected systems that use feedback loops and signaling mechanisms to effect change. Neuroscience requires us to examine the most basic building blocks of all systems, appreciate them for the way they independently create life, but go one step further and explore the way those systems rely on and communicate with each other to create unity. When I was introduced to Supply Chain, I saw various independently operated and complex systems that relied on strong, two-way communication to ensure seamless flow. Functions such as Accounting, Procurement, Manufacturing, Warehouse Management, IT, and Logistics all create value themselves, but in a firm, they rely on each other and must work in harmony to provide customer value. Navigating the transition between Neuroscience to Supply Chain was a matter of looking at businesses like beautifully constructed, living systems.
After learning to navigate informational discussions on business and technology, I found that the way my professors explained Supply Chain was the most consistent with the way my brain approached the world. I felt it was a completely natural fit because Supply Chain provided me with the same diverse overview of systems that Neuroscience did.
A critical element to balancing school with my current position at Northrop Grumman is finding mentors that value your education over their temporary necessity for support. School is the playground that shapes our interactions with new people, and you will find that your vision for the future will become clearer as you begin selecting classes that interest you and begin pursuing projects that fulfill you. Instead of one aspect of your life impeding on another, the balance between what you want to learn and what you want to do will establish itself.
