The Now Generation: Perspectives on AI, Energy, and Ethical Supply Chains

Summary

Podcast Summary: Supply Chain Now – The Now Generation: Perspectives on AI, Energy, and Ethical Supply Chains (February 16, 2026)

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Episode Overview

This dynamic episode of Supply Chain Now spotlights the next generation of supply chain leaders, featuring a lively panel from Texas Christian University (TCU): Dr. Morgan Swink (Professor and Executive Director, Center for Supply Chain Innovation), and senior undergraduates Ava Scotchy, Joshua Ahn, and Court Comer. Hosted by Scott Lewton, the episode explores today’s key supply chain issues — from the real-world impacts of AI and energy consumption, to the complexities of ethical sourcing, sustainability, and navigating global supply chains. The conversation blends professional insights, personal journeys, and practical advice on preparing for impactful supply chain careers.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. AI, Energy, and Rising Costs for Ratepayers

• AI’s impact on supply chains and domestic infrastructure: Court raises concerns about data centers driving up local electricity rates — a rarely discussed but significant societal impact.

• Quote:

  "When your electricity bill is $300 a month because there's a data center down the street, you won't really put two and two together. But it's a huge problem..." — Court Comer [00:00]

• Broader Context: Dr. Swink and Court discuss Texas' unique energy grid and the emerging need for sustainable energy sources (like modular nuclear reactors) to offset rising power demands from AI infrastructure.

2. Reverse Logistics and Returns Management

• Ava spotlights emerging practices in returns: Companies are now tracking personal return rates, considering fees for high-frequency returners.

• Quote:

  "They are starting to calculate their customers personal return rates... if you return too much you might get some fees added on." — Ava Scotchy [14:50]

• Dr. Swink’s Perspective: The scale and cost of reverse logistics in e-commerce is massive, with 50-60% return rates. Automation and rare earth recovery from e-waste surface as evolving frontiers.

3. Sustainability and Ethics in Global Supply Chains

• Joshua emphasizes the "human cost":

  "When a lot of these supply chains go global... it's hard to keep track, especially once you get into third or fourth level suppliers." — Joshua Ahn [17:48]

• Modern Slavery & Labor Rights: The group highlights the prevalence of labor abuses in lower tiers of global supply chains; TCU’s new certificate for sustainable business directly addresses these challenges.

• Quote, Dr. Swink:

  "The social issues are huge... along with environmental issues, we have to keep track of and make sense of when we can." [19:14]

4. Careers, Aspirations & Industry Change

• Ava: Focused on food & beverage supply, ensuring reliable access to quality food, with interests in aerospace and network planning.

• Joshua: Drawn to the global, diverse nature of supply chain roles. Aspires to champion greater transparency and sustainability.

• Court: Oil and gas enthusiast with a family ranching background; wants to reframe public perceptions and highlight advances in energy sustainability.

• Dr. Swink: Encourages students to pursue curiosity and adaptability, lauding the diversity and opportunity within supply chain careers.

• Quote:

  "[Supply chain] is the best team sport in the world." — Scott Lewton [29:37]

5. What Makes TCU Supply Chain Special

• High-Touch Faculty: All panelists praise TCU’s dedicated professors and personalized mentorship.
• Practical, Experiential Learning: Use of capstone projects, real-world case competitions, and extensive industry networking.
• Industry Connections: Strong ties to DFW businesses and constant curriculum updates reflecting current challenges (like tariffs).
• Quote:

  "They equip you to be able to solve stuff with limited instructions... that's, you know, real advice that has helped me tremendously already and I'm still in college." — Court Comer [34:24]

• Quote:

  "We can do a lot of these tours and special events... Being in Dallas Fort Worth is also amazing." — Dr. Swink [40:50]

6. Professional Development & Networking

• Trade Shows: Joshua attended the NRF “Big Show” (Retail’s largest trade show), gaining exposure to leading innovations and networking with industry professionals.
• Internships and Site Visits: Extensive engagement through tours (Amazon, Shoppa’s, Cintas), directly facilitating career growth.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On AI and Data Centers:

  • “AI is already changing supply chains globally. ...But the impact it’ll have on the domestic landscape, price of electricity ...will be passed to us.” — Court Comer [00:00]

• On Reverse Logistics:

  • “I got an email a few weeks ago ...they are starting to calculate their customers personal return rates.” — Ava Scotchy [14:50]

• On Sustainability Challenges:

  • “…now with a lot of these supply chains going global... it’s hard to keep track, especially in tertiary or even fourth level suppliers.” — Joshua Ahn [17:48]

• On Educational Approach:

  • “The curriculum is designed to put you in the workplace position, open ended, very much figured out yourself... much like life.” — Court Comer [34:24]

  • “A lot of the curriculum is very innovative... always being updated.” — Joshua Ahn [37:02]

  • “The center for Supply Chain offers so many different events that students can attend... site visits, speakers, and invaluable networking.” — Ava Scotchy [38:55]

• Capstone Project Experience:

  • “They’re contracting us to help them plan their growth plan... not only is it real world experience ...but also an opportunity to recruit, refine your skills, maybe get a job offer.” — Court Comer [42:30]

• Inspiration for Education:

  • “…to be able to be a part of that is very gratifying and a great part of my career...” — Dr. Morgan Swink [47:54]

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• TCU Program Overview and Panel Introductions: [01:50–05:25]
• Students’ Backgrounds and Passions: [06:07–13:22]
• Reverse Logistics Discussion: [14:50–17:17]
• Sustainability and Human Rights in Supply Chains: [17:48–20:38]
• AI, Energy, Data Centers Impact: [20:38–23:23]
• Career Aspirations / Impactful Change: [24:19–33:36]
• What Makes TCU Unique: [34:24–43:15]
• Capstone & Networking Value: [42:27–43:15]
• Trade Shows & Industry Engagement: [43:15–47:13]
• Faculty Reflections on Mentorship: [47:54–49:28]
• Wrap-Up, Contact Information: [49:43–51:26]

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Overall Tone & Takeaways

The discussion is upbeat, practical, and honest, blending deep dives into industry challenges with personal stories and clear appreciation for mentorship and community. The panel’s voices come through as passionate, future-focused, and eager to make a difference.

Key Takeaways:

• The “now generation” of supply chain leaders are actively grappling with real-time issues such as AI-induced energy costs, ethical sourcing, and reverse logistics.
• Personalized education, strong industry relationships, and practical experience (capstones, internships, trade shows) are critical in preparing new professionals.
• Supply chain careers offer a broad, flexible path for passionate problem-solvers and curious minds.
• There’s urgent need for more visibility and ethical diligence deep in global supply chains—an area where this new generation is poised to make real impact.

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Contact & Resources

• LinkedIn: Ava Scotchy, Joshua J. Ahn, Court Comer, Dr. Morgan Swink
• TCU Center for Supply Chain Innovation: Neely.tcu.edu (Just Google 'csci tcu')
• WISE Organization: Connect for student opportunities

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Memorable Closing Challenge

“Take just one thing, do something with it, right? Deeds, not words. That’s how we’re going to keep transforming global supply chain and leave no one behind.” — Scott Lewton [51:40]

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This episode offers a hopeful glimpse into the future of supply chain, led by inquisitive and empowered young professionals who blend technical savvy with a deep sense of ethical purpose.

Transcript

[A]

AI is already changing supply chains globally. It's in the news all the time. But the impact that it'll have on, like, the domestic landscape, price of electricity, because at the end of the day, most of the rates that we pay as ratepayers as homeowners will be like the cost and issues caused by, like, data centers will be passed to us. And that's not really widely known. But when your electricity bill is $300 a month because there's a data center down the street, you won't really put two and two together. But it's a huge problem and it's not really talked about outside of the data center and energy space because it's so, you know, politically charged and extremely controversial.

[B]

Welcome to Supply Chain now, the number one voice of supply chain. Join us as we share critical news, key insights and real supply chain leadership from across the globe, one conversation at a time. Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you may be. Scott Lewton here with you again on Supply Chain now. Welcome to today's show, folks. We're continuing one of my favorite series here, one that we like to call the Now Generation, where we sit down with students and professional educators from some of the leading colleges and universities around the world. So check this out. Though new for 2026, we're delighted to partner with Dr. Stephanie Thomas and the WISE organization at the University of Arkansas to power the Now Generation series Forward Wise exists to show students that supply chain is exciting, impactful and full of opportunity. Now this initiative creates community, connects students with industry leaders and helps them build the skills and confidence to launch meaningful careers. You can learn more via the link right there in the show notes. All right, so folks, today we're going to feature a terrific school. It's been growing left and right. I learned more about it in a recent visit to dfw. Not too long ago, Texas Christian University. And when it comes to supply chain management, TCU has been ranked as a top five program for best online MBA in supply chain management in the US and top 20 for graduate supply chain programs in North America by Gartner. So get ready, folks, as we continue one of my absolute favorite series here at Supply Chain Now. All right, so let's get down to work. And I want to introduce our panel here today, starting with my friend, Dr. Morgan Swink, who's back with us by Popular Demand. He's got some raving fans in our ecosystem here. He serves as west chair and professor of supply chain management at the Neely School of Business at tcu. He Also is executive director of the center for Supply Chain Innovation. And as I mentioned, I enjoyed meeting Morgan in person when I made a trip down to DFW earlier. Actually, it was last year. And learned some of the really cool things that he and his students have been doing. Hey, Dr. Swank. How you doing today?

[C]

I'm doing great, Scott. Thanks for having me today.

[B]

You bet. You bet. We're not gonna get some of that delicious food we had in in Dallas this go around, but we'll make that happen later this year. How's that sound?

[C]

Sounds great.

[B]

All right, so joining me and Dr. Swink here today is a trio of supply chain superstar students that are already doing big things. That's why they're on the now generation series, and they got really bright futures. I want to welcome in Ava Scotchi. Ava. Did I say that right?

[D]

Ava Scotchy.

[B]

Scotchy. And usually I nail. I usually I nail that down pre show because as I like to tell folks, my last name is Luton. Everybody has said Luton my entire life, so I try to get it right. Ava Scotchy, great to see you. Now, Ava is a senior at tcu. She's double majoring in the deadly combination of supply chain and finance. She serves as president of the TCU Supply Chain Club this academic year. She also works to support the center for Supply Chain Innovation and the Neely Navigators. How about that? That's an undergraduate academic advising club. She's originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, which just might have worse traffic than Atlanta. And that is strong words, but, Ava, great to have you here today.

[D]

Thank you for having me.

[B]

You bet. Now Ava's joined by Joshua Ahn, also a senior at tcu, majoring in supply and value chain management and business information systems and minoring in Chinese. Man, that is quite a trio. Joshua's worked at Amazon. He's interned with Interstate Batteries and Bell Textron. Those are some big names. Joshua also currently serves as a senior officer for the TCU Supply Chain Club. Joshua, how you doing?

[E]

I'm doing great, Scott. How are you?

[B]

Wonderful. Great to have you here. And then finally, our cleanup hitter, Court Comer, also a senior at tcu, majoring in supply chain with an energy business minor. He's also employed as an accounting and land development intern at Black Mountain Oil and Gas. Court is originally from Fort Worth, Texas, famously known, if you don't know, as where the west begins. How about that? Court, great to see you here today. How you doing?

[A]

Doing well, Mr. Luden.

[B]

Great to see y'.

[C]

All.

[B]

All right, so, Ava, Court, Joshua, get ready. We're going to learn more about you in just a minute. But I got to ask you, Dr. Swink, you got a bunch of bright students coming through. We got three seniors here that probably have made a big impact on the program. Before we get to know them a little better, you want to foreshadow with the. The brain trust we've got here. Anything you want to add about this trio of students?

[C]

Well, they are some of the best and brightest. You mentioned the club. We have a supply chain club, and I think all three of them are pretty involved with that. Ava being the president and Joshua filling one of the officers roles there. So we might learn a little bit more about that. But they're helping us in a lot of ways. I mean, they're adding to the intellectual clout of our classes and things like that with. Love it. The serious brain power that they bring, but they're also helping us grow the program and do things like tours and events. And we can talk about all of that, but these are some of the shakers and movers in our program, for sure.

[B]

I love that, Morgan. And it's a good thing because as you share with me when we were together last, TCU is growing by leaps and bounds.

[C]

Crazy.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Okay, so, Ava, Court and Joshua, let's get to know you a little better before we start picking your brain more on global supply chain. And Ava, I want to circle back to you, fearless president of the supply chain club. Love that. But I want to ask you a little about your background. You grew up in. In Chattanooga, is that right?

[D]

That's right.

[B]

Bunch of family your whole life. Bunch of family still there?

[D]

Yes, My parents. My sister goes back home there. I'm a twin, so she goes to Baylor University, but we always make it back to Chattanooga.

[B]

Love that. And I gotta ask you this. So when you're not doing supply chain stuff, it sounds like you get. You do that a lot. Every day. What's one passion or hobby that you have kind of outside of of our favorite thing?

[D]

I enjoy golfing. I played in high school and middle school, and I still play a little bit in college.

[B]

Okay, Dr. Swing, you're a golfer. Have y' all competed yet? We have not.

[C]

I. I don't think we'll compete. I wouldn't dare compete, but I would love to go out with Ava sometime. We'll definitely do that before she graduates. Oh, yeah. Get around in for sure.

[B]

One final question, Ava, before I. I move on to Joshua. If folks spent. If they're driving the interstate. I can't remember the Interstate. It goes to Chattanooga, but the one we were talking about traffic a minute ago. If they stop in and eat at one place, where. Where would you point people to?

[D]

That's definitely a tough one, but I would probably say stir. It's downtown and it's right by where the Chattanooga Choo Choo was, so a lot of good history there. Ice cream. It's just a neat spot to visit.

[B]

Outstanding. You have me an ice cream. So stir in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Okay. So, Joshua, I learned pre show that you grew up, I believe, in San Antonio, Texas, which is really hot down there in south part of Texas, right, Joshua?

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[E]

It can definitely get really hot there the summers.

[B]

So when. When you're not doing supply chain stuff and. And between your studies and supply chain club and any research and stuff, what's one of your hobbies or passions?

[E]

Well, I'd say I'm an amateur musician. I did drumline in high school, and I've been playing drum set for what, 13 years now. So I like to, you know, pick up gigs every once in a while.

[B]

Outstanding. Well, Morgan, for all your supply chain orchestration talk, Joshua is at the ready to add the drum beat to those conversations. Huh?

[C]

I love that. And this is so fun because I'm learning because I was a drummer in high school also, and I have a son who's a professional drummer. So what? Just all kinds of connections here, man.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

It's nice to know that about you.

[B]

Well, we're gonna have to have y' all back and we'll. We'll dive more into the music scene. Live music. I didn't know that about you, Dr. Swink. Blessed be the ties at Bond for sure. And Joshua, one more question. And I think you moved to the Fort Worth area. You still have family in San Antonio?

[E]

I have an aunt that lives there, but other than that, my family is mostly either here up in Dallas or my extended family. Both of them are in actually South Korea.

[B]

Okay, so in your. Your Texas town, your choice, what's one food recommendation you'd share with our audience here?

[E]

I mean, I would have to say, if you're ever in Dallas and you're wanting Korean food, going to this place called BCD Tofu house in Carrollton. Man, you will get the best tofu stews there. It is so good.

[B]

Love it. Oh, man, you are making me hungry now. Okay, Joshua, thank you for the inside tip there and look forward to learning more about your musical passion as well. Kurt, great to see you here today. Let's start with where you see you Grew up in the Fort Worth area, Is that right?

[A]

Yes, sir. Born and raised.

[B]

Born and raised. And y', all. Is that a real tagline? Y' all talk about where the west begins. Is that something that you knew about?

[A]

I mean, it's on every police car. So if you're on here long enough, I'm sure you'll see it. Whether that's good or bad is your choice.

[B]

All right, so when you're not doing supply chain stuff, what's your. What's your passion or hobby?

[A]

I mean, I love oil and gas. Like, I do it for work, but it's kind of an all or nothing industry, so it occupies a lot of my extracurricular time. But I'm also a member of the Texas Cattle Raisers Association. My grandparents have a ranch, so I help. Wow. Manage that and keep track of that.

[B]

Court, I don't think we've ever had anyone on the show whose family had a ranch. I've got a thousand questions. We'll have to have you back. And because, of course, livestock or cattle ranching is big business in Texas and some of those other states out there, huh?

[A]

Yes, sir.

[B]

All right, so one, same thing for you folks. Go to Fort Worth. Where's the place you direct them to go eat something really good.

[A]

I got a few. If you want a chicken fried steak, Lucille's on Cambodia is extremely good. It's also Cajun food. Um, Charleston's is also really good over on healing. Good chicken fried steak. Macy, Gary Patterson there. And then Michael's off 7th street has like, these quail sticks as a starter, and they're extremely good, too.

[B]

Okay, well, I. I'll share a little tip with y'.

[C]

All.

[B]

I've got Georgia barbecue coming here that I'm gonna dive into right after this interview, and I cannot wait. Morgan, when he said Lucille's, that always takes me to Kenny Rogers. Kenny Rogers had a great song about Lucille. But did you know the. The cattle and the ranching element here with Court? Morgan?

[C]

I did not know that. I. I haven't really spent any time with Court, so I didn't know that. But I know we have a lot of students who are very interested in. In oil and gas and energy. And somehow those two things seem to go together a lot. Cattle ranches and oil and gas, no doubt.

[B]

And I'll tell you, speaking of energy, we've got some big challenges we're going to have to solve to continue to fuel the. All the AI innovations that we're seeing later. Okay? So now that we've learned More about Court Joshua and Ava Dr. Swink, I know you've been with us previously on a couple shows. Really enjoyed those, but I just want to get, want to level set a bit with your background and your current roles. Share a little bit with us, would you, Morgan?

[C]

Well, I grew up around here too. I grew up in Colleyville actually went to school over in Dallas. It's a lot like tcu. We don't like to say their name here but. And then I worked for Texas Instruments for 10 years engineering and moved into product development and producibility and those kinds of things. More supply chain type stuff. Then I made the jump to academia and spent 10 years at Indiana University. Go Hoosiers. Very happy this year. Then 12 years at Michigan State and then I've been here at TCU now finally got back to Texas after all those years up in the Midwest. I've been here for 15 years and it's been great. I. It's just a great career. You know, you get a chance to stay in touch with what's happening in business but also be kind of in the academic lifestyle and interact with really smart folks like kids here.

[B]

Yeah. And you are doing some really cool things at, not only at the, with the supply chain program, but the center for Supply Chain Innovation. Do a lot of robust programming there as well, right Morgan?

[C]

Absolutely. Yeah. We've got some new programs, we've got a new project initiative that all three of these students are involved with that I can say more about later if we have time. But it's a great way. It's engaging students with businesses in a much more intense way. Lots of events going on. We have our big case competition coming up in a few weeks. 20 different schools from around the country we'll be sending graduate students to compete around a case that we wrote with a not for profit organization this year called Operation Smile. It's going to be really fun. So yeah, lots and lots of stuff going on.

[B]

Well, good stuff, Dr. Swink. Really appreciate what you do. I'm going to learn more about Operation Smile. I love how you've tied that non profit into some of your programming and you're tapping into Court, Joshua and Ava and putting them to work on these case studies and other work. Really cool stuff. All right, so I'm gonna circle back to you, Ava. So when you think of, you know, it's tough to keep up with everything going on just in one region in, in in terms of the supply chain world, much less globally. But if you had to pick one thing, one topic or trend or challenge that really is a big common theme across industry and supply chain that really intrigues you. What would that be?

[D]

Ava One topic recently that I've been interested in is reverse logistics. I got an email a few weeks ago from one of my favorite companies that I shop with all the time that they are starting to calculate their customers personal return rates. So just looking at the value of the products that customers are buying versus the value of their returns and I guess maybe if you return too much you might get some fees added on. But luckily I'm in the clear. I'm able to still return for free. But I think this is interesting moving forward with other companies and seeing how they balance customer satisfaction with those increasing costs for reverse logistics.

[B]

Ava, I'm fascinated with reverse logistics and returns management and Morgan. In fact, we've got a live stream coming up soon with the folks at the National Retail Federation all about reverse and returns of tidal wave returns. But I was reading earlier, Morgan, we're talking about the weather and there's, there's a bunch of folks that are trying to return those generators that they splurged on and some places are hanging signs saying no returns of generators. But Morgan returns. Is something, the reverse logistics something we got to get a better handle on?

[C]

Yeah, for sure. It's, it is a really interesting area, especially in E commerce where I think, I don't know what the numbers are now, but they have been something like 50 to 60% of orders are returned. It's, it's. And you get a lot of these repeat offenders, so to speak. You're buying whatever, whether it's generators or clothes or whatever, trying monster back. So yeah, it's hugely costly. I think some companies are getting to the point where they realize that the processing costs are more than the value of the item, just as Ava kind of alluded to there a minute ago. So it's a big area. It's huge area in durable goods too. And if you think about lifetime probably durable things like refrigerators and washing machines and all that kind of stuff, you think where does all that stuff go? You know, how much of that actually gets recycled and repurposed, how much of it ends up in a landfill. I still think we're a long way away from being able to process those things in a meaningful way. Then there's the whole rare earth stuff. I don't know if you've seen in the news lately a lot more work around repurposing and reprocessing E waste, you know, phones and TVs and all that stuff to try to recapture rare earths out of that and automation to help with that. So it's, it's a really interesting area across all kinds of business sectors.

[B]

Morgan, good stuff. There's so much going on in, as you and Ava both are alluding to in the reverse logistics space, the return space. And as we were talking earlier, it's more and more challenging for retailers out there and others to keep up with the criminal aspect of the returns fraud game. So we'll keep our eye on that. Okay. So, Joshua, same question we posed to Ava. When you think of one particular topic or trend or challenge in global supply chain, what intrigues you the most part.

[E]

Of supply chain that's really interesting to me is kind of like the sustainability aspect of it, especially when it comes to the human cost of everything.

[C]

Right.

[E]

Obviously here in the US and most Western countries, we have very strong labor laws that protect people from being overworked or being underpaid and stuff. But now with a lot of these supply chains going global across multiple different countries, it's hard to keep track of all that, especially once you get into tertiary or even fourth level suppliers. Right. And I've definitely seen that come up as an issue across my experience in internships. And I would say, like, this particular thing's been an interest to me for a while, especially since I worked from Amazon. Obviously they have a reputation when it comes to workers rights, but when I compare the experience that I had to what I've heard from overseas, like, it's. It's still nothing compared to what we see like, in other countries like India or Vietnam or Indonesia. Joshua.

[B]

That I find workforce in general to be fascinating as well. We just had a great webinar session on the workforce challenges that manufacturing in particular is being faced with. But no one's immune, Morgan. No one's immune from workforce challenges these days, huh?

[C]

Yeah. And it is, as Joshua suggested, it's just so hard to keep track of your second, third, fourth year, you know, suppliers, what's actually happening there. You have really no influence. I want to use this opportunity to put a plug in too. I didn't prep Joshua for this, but we just launched a certificate for sustainable business here in Neely School. The center that I head up is sponsoring that and it's been great. We've got about 40 students signed up already. It's for students from all over tcu, business students, but other students as well. You can take a three course series on sustainability issues and fair labor practices, human trafficking in terms of slave labor for work. Those are big parts of supply chains that we have to, we have to keep track of and make sense of when we can. Along with environmental issues, you know, the social issues are huge.

[B]

That's right. And you know, a lot of folks I found in my journey. Joshua and Morgan, to your point, you know, modern day slavery and human trafficking, it is so much more prevalent than the average person understands. And to y' all's both points, as you go deeper and deeper into lower tiers and you have lesser and lesser visibility, you also have lesser and lesser visibility on your risk, much less the travesty itself. So we got to do a better job there. Good stuff. Joshua and Morgan. Okay, Court, same question, topic, trend issue, you name it, that you're really fascinated with across global supply chain.

[A]

Funnily enough, you mentioned AI and data centers earlier and that was my main point. So I thought you were going to steal my thunder, but you didn't. I think it's one of the unique places where oil and gas and supply chain really mesh. Besides midstream logistics within oil and gas, the demand for power, land resources, as well as supplying all the computers, potentially like generators and power sourcing in house on land is extremely important. I mean AI is already changing supply chains globally. It's in the news all the time. But the impact that it'll have on the domestic landscape price of electricity because at the end of the day, most of the rates that we pay as ratepayers as homeowners will be like the cost and issues caused by like data centers will be passed to us. And that's not really widely known. But when your electricity bill is $300 a month because there's a data center down the street, you won't really put two and two together. But it's a huge problem and it's not really talked about outside of the data center and energy space because it's so, you know, politically charged and extremely controversial.

[B]

Court, first off, I don't get to steal anyone's thunder ever. Court, they don't let me do that around here. But more to your point, those, those energy dynamics you mentioned, both the known and the unknown, it really is thought provoking. And Morgan, we were talking about this, we talk about this a lot because the infrastructure, we have energy, but also the holistic, when you think of infrastructure, water, energy, I mean, you name it, we got so much to upgrade and improve. But energy in particular, and electricity in particular, we've got a lot of work to do in order to continue to, to Meet the demand not only is growing here in the states, but elsewhere. Your quick thoughts there, Dr. Swink?

[C]

Yeah, for sure. I mean there's so many things to talk about here. But Texas in particular, we have some challenges there because we have the advantage of having our own electrical grid, you know, power grid. But there's disadvantages with that too. We can't share. We don't share across the states as well as some of the other states. Cancel. We have some limitations there. But from a supply chain, especially educational standpoint, this data center development build out is really giving us opportunity to think about supply chains even more broadly. Right. Not just materials, but supply chains of energy, land, water, capital. Right. Even, you know, all the capital is getting soaked up into this. So it's a great way to kind of get students to think about supply chain beyond what you kind of normally think about trucks and warehouses and stuff like that. It'll be interesting to see how it shakes out. I don't know if we're going to get nuclear power plants at every data center or what, but somebody's going to have to come up with a solution.

[B]

No doubt. No doubt. And I'm tracking the, didn't they call them smr, the small modular reactors that are being deployed these days. That'll be interesting. I am hopeful. I'm no energy nuclear energy engineer, but I'm hopeful we're moving into a really innovative chapter when it comes to nuclear power too, as part of the overall equation. Okay, so Ava Court, Joshua Yalls radar is dead on here today. And Morgan, appreciate your comments. Ava, I'm come back around to you. Actually all three of you are seniors. All three of you are seniors. So I bet y' all have a really good idea of what you want to do in industry and why and once you. Once you and really are already there. But as you kind of navigate through your career, some of the change that you want to lead and make happen. So Ava, when you think of what you want to do, why and some of the change you want to drive, what comes to mind?

[D]

Well, last summer and then also after I graduate, I'll be working in the food and beverage industry. And so really I have enjoyed that because I know that somewhere down the line I'm able to help someone have access to quality food whenever they need it. So I'm very passionate about that. I also have always been interested in aerospace and would love to potentially get involved in that at some point. And then another thing I'm interested in is network planning and facility design. Last year I was involved in a case competition. And the students that participated were tasked with making the facility better designed and improving that process. And I think that's something that I could be very good at one day in the future. And so overall, the change that I would like to make in whatever position I'm in, especially in the food and beverage industry, is just making sure that the processes are efficient and reliable as possible.

[B]

I like it. You know, I spent a little time in my career working for Cisco Foods, big player in the F and B space, supplying a lot of independent restaurants, and was fascinated, and this is forever ago, but was really fascinated with their real. And you hear about customer service, like, as a phrase, and it's real so generic. But they. At Cisco Foods does such a great job of zeroing in on what independent restauranters need, whether it's their supply chain. Right. Or how they price their plates, their menus and stuff. Outstanding company. Incredible company. Morgan, what'd you hear at the FMB Aerospace network planning efficient processes? What'd you hear there, Morgan?

[C]

Lots of opportunity there. I don't know if either wants me to add her or not. She's going to work for PepsiCo, which is one of our Frito Lay In. PepsiCo is one of our big partners here, and there is lots of opportunity. I don't know about the aerospace part, but definitely for the facilities and network planning as. As well as other opportunities there. But we, we love placing students with them. They hire a lot of our students every year and usually our best and brightest. So congrats to Ava for getting that position.

[B]

Outstanding, Ava. Really cool. Congrats. I look forward to hearing a lot more. All right, so, Joshua, same question. What do you want to do in industry and why, including some of the change you want to personally drive?

[E]

I definitely want to go into something that gets me plugged into, like the global supply chain, Whether that's global manufacturing or logistics. Honestly, I don't really care. It's all very interesting to me. I can't even say if I have. There's like a specific industry that I'm particularly interested in because I'm just. I tend to be curious about everything. Like, if you couldn't tell from my previous work experience, like, I've done E Comm. I've done distribution, I've done every contractor. I think there's something that's really interesting about every single industry out there. So when it comes to that, I'm open to anything. But when it comes to what I want to do or what sort of change I want to lead is I definitely want to kind of continue to push for more awareness on that sustainability and ethics side of the global supply chain. Because especially with like the Internet and us just becoming more and more driven with all this information, it's more and more important that companies are aware of what's happening down their supply chain, up and down their supply chain, so that they can reduce and mitigate any sort of risks that may be posed. So definitely one, I, I'd like to really push forward, more visibility towards that area.

[B]

Joshua, there's so many things about your response we could dive into. But Morgan, I really want to get you to comment two big things on the front end of his response there. He loves tasting a little bit everything, but he really wants to be in global business organizations. I love that. And then secondly, that natural curiosity that clearly he has, he has enjoyed the Baskin Robbins approach. Right. That natural curiosity will serve anyone really, really well. What you hear there, Dr. Swink?

[C]

Well, my, my reaction is it's great that you're going into the supply chain, Joshua, because it's, it's the one career area. There may be others, but is a major career opportunity to do lots of different kinds of things. Right. Supply chain is end to end. Supply chain covers every aspect of a business and all businesses are global today. Right. So you're going to get opportunities to, to interact with folks from around the world and suppliers and customers who represent all kinds of different cultures and tastes and beliefs. And that's what's so fun to me about supply chain and what I envision for folks like you are going out into the world. I think, you know, Josh, with your BIS combination, I think you can sell yourself as being somebody who can bring integration across different areas because you've got these varied experiences and things like that. You got a lot to offer to a, a big company, a big global company that's trying to integrate a lot of different activities across systems and across processes and things like that. And sustainability is just, you know, cherry on top.

[B]

But that's if the rock and roll career doesn't work out, Joshua. Okay, so we'll see. Jury's out on that. But, but. Well said, Morgan. I like to say I stole this from somebody some sometime, but you know, global supply chain as, as partial as I am to American football, global supply chain is the best team sport in the world. Right. And so, Joshua, we're going to keep our finger on the pulse and see where you go. Okay? Cork, same question. What do you want to do and why and what's some of the change you want to see out there.

[A]

It's pretty obvious. Oil and gas is kind of my home intern there.

[C]

Love it.

[A]

It's probably where I'm going to be home for my whole career. If everything goes to plan within that space, it could be anywhere. There's a lot of opportunity everywhere. Data centers, energy and power, transmission generation, distribution, all those things. My impact and like, where I see myself is more on the land side, like purchasing, procurement of land, you know, talking to homeowners, being the middleman, landman, seeing myself interacting with, you know, whether that's large customers or farmers. I feel like I'm a pretty relatable person and I feel like that kind of fits my niche extremely well and also kind of changing how the energy and oil and gas industry is viewed as a whole. Landman's made the news. But other than that, people know extremely little about how advanced we are, how many steps we've taken to be sustainable, to take care of our owners. And oil and gas, we'll make the news and it's not really going to go anywhere, especially with power demand being the way that it is, but changing the way in people's perceptions, which is lofty goal for one person. But yes, making sure that people understand what goes into turning your stove on or powering your house from day to day I think is extremely important.

[B]

Cor, like it. I've already learned from you who to blame when I get these higher energy soon. But no, you, you can, you can absolutely tell you're passionate about it. I love that. It took me a long time to find what I was most passionate about. And all three of y' all have such a great head start on that court. How about the ranch though? The ranching? Is that always going to be a connection for you? Are you? So about oil and gas, it's, hey, I'll stop, come back by for barbecue on the weekends.

[A]

I hope it is, you know, kind of a weekend thing. Get away from the city and kind of disconnect a little bit. We'll see how it fits in. But if I'm going to be driving to the middle of nowhere to make oil and gas deals, I'll get a little ranching on the side.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

All right. So, Morgan, what an interesting collection of passions and kind of what they want to do in the industry. What'd you hear there from Cork?

[C]

Well, what made me think, you know, of a kind of a kinship there, Court, is we're trying to do the same thing with supply chain, you know, not so Much dispel a negative perception or anything like that, but just raise the awareness, the perception of the supply chain that's operating in the background that everybody depends on, but everybody takes for granted. You know, Covid, of course, helped. Helped us a lot with that kind of raising the awareness and I think gratitude in some people's minds, you know, for. For the kinds of supply chains that we have and how bad it can be when things don't go the way they're supposed to go. But it's definitely helped us in terms of our visibility and growing our major and, you know, placing students in great, great positions and things like that. So if you can do the same thing with oil and gas, you know, raise the visibility, turn it into a positively perceived industry, that'll be great. That's wonderful. And Landman's got you a good start.

[A]

So I think it's funny how you mentioned Covid, because I feel like the winter storm here in Texas that froze everything and everybody lost power, did the same thing, but almost worse. You know, why did we not have power? Why am I freezing? Well, when gas pipes freeze and there's no infrastructure, we tend to lose power.

[C]

Yeah, it's even more high. I guess you can. You can kind of live with the fact that your Amazon delivery was three days late, you know, but when your power goes off, that's a. That's a whole nother level of discomfort.

[B]

That's right. All right, so I'm in reverse the order here, because I want. I'm asking you all next. I'll get all of you all to comment on what makes TCU supply chain program so successful. I added, you know, on the front end, I shared a couple of grades or attributes, you know, lauding the program. There's a lot more than just that. But I want to get all of y' all to weigh in, especially not only in terms of what makes it successful in your view, but how it's prepared you to do the things you're going to be doing, the big things you're doing in industry. So I'm in reverse order. I'm going to go back to Court here. And by the way, can't y' all just see Court driving his pickup truck across that ranch, making sure those cattle gets in the right place? Court. I can see that, man. So your. Your thoughts? What makes the supply chain program, tcu, so, so successful, and how has it best prepared you?

[A]

I think TCU in general has incredibly good professors and staff. They really seems like they care. And I've been able to have a lot of personal relationships with them, which is extremely important to me and makes my learning experience so much better. But the curriculum is designed in a way to kind of put you in the workplace position, open ended, very much figured out yourself, which is kind of how life is versus them holding your hand. Of course they're there for health and help and stuff, but I think it's really important how much they equip you to be able to solve stuff with limited instructions. Because when your boss puts something on your desk and there's two lines and you have to figure out what to do, that's, you know, it's really real advice that has helped me tremendously already and I'm still in college. But I think the main thing is the faculty here really pour a lot into you and expect things of you, which is too much. Who is asked much is expected. And that's a great place to be because pushing you to be a better student and a better, you know, young professional puts me years ahead of my competitors who are in a classroom of 600 people and don't have the one to one or team interaction that we get here.

[B]

Court, well said. I love that quote you mentioned. And of course, a big tip of the hat to the faculty and Morgan. I'm going to get all three feedback and then get you to weigh in on what we hear collectively. But Court, thank you for that. Now, Joshua, I can see you just jamming at your next gig. And I got to ask you, Whiplash, the famous movie that I think one Academy Awards all about the passion of one drummer. Thumbs up or thumbs down on that movie? Joshua.

[E]

When it comes to entertainment, thumbs up. When it comes to maybe the accuracy of what music school looks like, I would probably say thumbs down. I don't think any music professor out there really gets that physical, but I like it. I was definitely a very entertaining movie.

[B]

It was. Okay, good. So drum teachers aren't that bad. Okay. Joshua. All right, so TCU supply chain program, incredibly successful comment on that and including how it's prepared you for that big global career years.

[C]

Yeah, well, I mean, I don't want.

[E]

To copy Court here, but I really think it is the faculty and the staff that we have. I mean, obviously they work really hard to prepare curriculum, but one thing I've noticed is that they're also very open to listening to student feedback and kind of adjusting their curriculum to better suit what we're seeing in internships, what we need for internships and careers.

[C]

Right.

[E]

I think almost every single supply chain class I've taken here at Neely. The professor at one point in the semester has always said, yeah, this is a little different from what we've done in the past, but it's better for you. Right. A lot of the curriculum is very innovative. It's always being updated. For example, like for Global Supply Chain, which I took last semester with all the tariff stuff happening, it was very interesting to see kind of all that play out real time as we're learning it in the classroom. So just having that tie into the real world instead of everything being solely theory or just we're just going to be reading off the textbook all day, all week. Right. And yeah, I think that's definitely one of the big reasons why it's. This program's great.

[B]

So Joshua, I thought we're gonna get the whole conversation without hearing the word tariff, but that's not a case. And I just saw earlier today as we're recording this on 29 January, not when it's released, but when we're recording it, that just announced how much the trade deficit has grown. It doubled month to month here recently as numbers just came out. So we'll see where all that goes. But Joshua, I love that faculty feedback. We're gonna some themes emerging here. Ava, same question, your thoughts on the supply chain program and how it's prepared you for a big successful career. And I should say, Ava, I can see you. I'm not sure if it's the Masters championship or the PGA or, or US Open, but I can see you hitting. I bet you have a long drive, don't you?

[D]

Ava, I wouldn't say it's that long. I'm. I'm better at putting and chipping and all of that, but I'm not that good. I'm working on it, but I'm not that good.

[B]

Well, as, as I've heard more, the short game is what wins.

[C]

Yes, for sure. Right? Yeah.

[B]

So aa your thoughts on the program?

[D]

Yes. So I think what Court and Joshua said is perfect. I also want to add on that the center for Supply Chain offers so many different events that students can attend. And personally this has helped me a lot network with professionals. Also obtain my internship and full time offer especially case competitions. The site visits to surrounding companies. Last semester we visited Amazon and also Shopa's material handling. And then tomorrow actually we're going to Cintas Corporation. So I think these are so valuable to students to see, you know, the real world and how things actually work and what is needed in the supply chain. We also have speakers that come here and share their thoughts. They also will share recruiting tips to students because, you know, at the end of the day, we're all here to learn, but also we need jobs. So I think that's so important. And the center has such great connections with industries surrounding in dfw and that has just helped me so much and prepared me for my career. Whenever I was a freshman. I just think about how so uninvolved I was and I don't even know what I did with my days. I think just run around with my friends and it's crazy to think that now I'm so business oriented and I've developed all these leadership skills and the confidence that has really helped me and I know it will help in my future.

[B]

Ava, Love it. And you know, all of my college experience was like your first year, so you are light years ahead of me. But Morgan, you gotta, you know, you gotta be grinning from ear to ear hearing what Court and Joshua and Ava, as they describe their experience and the value of the program and your approach at curating and. And making it really a living organism that grows and evolves as our industry does. Your thoughts, what we heard there from the trio.

[C]

Well, very appreciative for those comments. And I, I know we do have faculty and staff who work really hard. I mean, that's tcu. TCU is a very high touch program. We or school, you know, we do have the virtue of being a little bit smaller. We're growing like crazy, but we still have relatively smaller classes and we can do a lot of these tours and special events and things around smaller groups of students because we have that kind of resource, you know, in terms of the number of students we have and the number of faculty and staff we have to support them. So that's amazing. Being in Dallas Fort Worth is also amazing. That's one of the reasons, I mean, this was my hometown. But I was really excited to come back to TCU for that reason. Two, just to have access to all these great companies. And so that's part of what the center is all about, as they've suggested, you know, trying to bring companies and students together not just in the recruiting piece that's a big part of it, but also in the experiential learning piece, all these tours and things. And as I mentioned earlier, we're doing projects now, so we've got these serious capstone projects that we've got 10 of them this year for our 60 graduating students spread across those 10 projects. And these are real world projects. With statements of work that are pretty intense. You know, trying to deliver real value to these companies along with creating a great learning experience. You know, like Court mentioned, they're going to do a lot of things that they have not covered in class. So they're going to be learning a lot as they go through this with a. With a faculty mentor. So it's. It's just great. It's fun to be at a place like TCU where we can do these kinds of things with really bright students.

[A]

I'd love to touch on the capstone really quick.

[C]

Sure.

[A]

Give me the opportunity. I think it's so interesting. Like I'm working with shopas who Ava mentioned they went to last semester, getting the opportunity to go tour the site and as Dr. Swink said, commit real value to this company. I mean, they're contracting us to help them plan their growth plan. Like not only is it real world experience with someone you can talk to that's a faculty advisor who you've already had before, you already have a relationship with, but it's also an opportunity to, you know, recruit, refine your skills, maybe get a job offer if you deliver on the way that you are. And like, having that in your curriculum is I think, a perfect example of what TCU wants to do. They want to prepare you and equip you so that when you leave here, not only will you find a job, but you'll be able to succeed in Excel and differentiate yourself from a pool of other applicants.

[B]

I like it. Court. Good stuff. All right, so I want to touch on as we kind of come down to home stretch here. Joshua Court and Ava is trade shows. Ava, have you been able to get out to a trade show yet?

[D]

I have not been able to make it out to one, but hopefully one day.

[B]

One day. And then, you know, Modex Gardner got to go and Manifest is in Vegas this week. We and some of these places like Modex and Promat Morgan, they're free to go to. Those are great deals. 40, 000 people at these places. So Ava will have to make that happen. Court, how about yourself?

[A]

I have not personally. I've been to other things for different stuff. Like my dad was in IBAT when I was growing up. So I've been to stuff like that which is a completely different industry, but I have not personally for supply chain.

[B]

Did you say I bat?

[A]

Yes, sir.

[C]

What.

[B]

What is that?

[A]

I know it's bankers of Texas. It's like it's independent bankers. There it is.

[B]

It's like a banking of financial organization. I got.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

But that's big business in a state like Texas Court.

[A]

Yes, sir.

[B]

It brings me, Morgan, to Junior Ewing. I know he was the banker. That's a dated reference, but. All right, so, Joshua. Ava. And that's. Yeah, I was really old before I made my first industry trade show. It wasn't on my radar at all. Have you made one yet, Joshua?

[E]

I have. I actually went to the NRF Big show with Dr. Swink this past month. That was a really, really interesting experience. They had, like, a student program that went with the overall trade show. So just being able to network with professionals there as well was great. But going to the actual trade show and kind of seeing the kind of innovations and the topics that all of these companies are looking at and what their concerns, maybe, or like, basically what their focus is on, it was very interesting to see all of that. And yeah, that trade show was really big. I was very overwhelmed when we first walk into that building.

[B]

All right, so, Joshua, I'm so jealous you went to the big show up in New York City. I bet you had some really good food, Joshua. Oh, man. Okay, you're gonna. Are you gonna try to make me hungry again? Are you about to tell me what you had?

[E]

I actually went out to Flushing Greens, and me and a couple of the other students who went, we went to this Chinese restaurant called Mountain House. Oh, man, it was so good. Like, it was probably some of the best Chinese I've had.

[B]

Wow. Mountain House in Queens. All right, I wrote that down. Good stuff. Joshua Morgan. Trade shows, you know, they're the value proposition for trade shows, certainly has evolved. And you see some that are really keeping up, kind of doing with. With like, Yalls approach to the program, living and breathing.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Based on how industry evolves. And others are a bit more not picking in on anybody. A little bit more old, old fashioned, I'll call it. Your view on trade shows, the value they pose. Morgan.

[C]

Well, as Josh, Joshua mentioned, we just got back from NRF couple of weeks ago. We actually partnered with the fashion merchandising school and took about 40 TCU students up there. And it was great. And I do think there's a lot of value in it. We used to be pretty involved with CSNP and ISRM and take students to both of those programs have kind of fallen off on that more recently. It's just. Just the time is find that students are really busy. It's not faculty. It's students who are so busy, they have a hard time finding time to go to these things. But, yeah, in general, I still think they're a great way to give students a lot of introduction to a broad set of topics, broad set of players in the industry in a very, you know, condensed form. Plus they're usually held in pretty nice places like New York City or other places like that. So good to give them some exposure to those kind of locations as well.

[B]

Well said, Morgan. And you know, you pick and choose your spots. It really can be very rewarding, very productive and I'm looking forward to. We're, I think we're covering about 10 here in 20, 26, so. Yeah, we'll see. All right. So I gotta ask you, Morgan, I've had just the last hour, you know, enjoyed the interaction between you and Court and Joshua and Ava. And I know you're in, just in talking with you, you're passionate, you enjoy. It's real fulfilling for you. What's a good day when you're, you know, what do you experience in, in a really good day as you're exchanging views and thoughts and really learning from students as much as they learn from you? Maybe your thoughts are, Morgan.

[C]

Well, there's just a couple of things that happen occasionally that really make it worthwhile from the student side. I mean, sometimes I just like to walk around campus and just watch these students, you know, young, fresh, bright, energetic, you know, improving people. It's very energizing for me now that I'm, you know, getting up in the years and stuff. Just to walk around and see what's happening in these kids lives is, is very rewarding and to be able to be a part of that is, is very gratifying and a great part of my career. Sometimes when I'm teaching a class and it's really strange because I have no real, even I've, I've done this for 30 years, but I still don't have a great barometer on how well that class went. Cause sometimes I'll think, wow, that was terrible. That class was terrible. And some student will come up and say, man, that was really great today. That just obviously pushes all kinds of buttons. Really is rewarding. It's when they, you think things went great and nobody says anything. That's the other side of the coin. But, but yeah, just the chance to get to interact. And every now and then you've got a few students like, like these folks who are here today who show a real interest in what they're doing. A lot of passion, a lot of energy. It's just great. It's a great lifestyle to be around folks like this all the time.

[B]

I'm with you. And, and it's plenty of calls for very practical optimism of where our industry is going with bright folks like Joshua and Court and Ava. So really appreciate y' all taking some time here. Dr. Swink, really appreciate what you do in industry. You and, and, and these great educators that are also practitioners. You're fueling the talent pipeline.

[A]

Best.

[B]

The best is coming into global supply chain. So I really appreciate what groups like the supply chain program us TCU does. All right, so Ava Scotchy, right? The pride of Chattanooga, Tennessee. How can folks connect with you? Ava.

[D]

Through my LinkedIn, which is AVA Dash.

[B]

Scotchy is just that easy. Okay. Joshua on I look forward to maybe catching a gig of yours next time I come to dfw. But how can folks connect with you?

[E]

I would say the same thing. It's LinkedIn. Joshua J.

[B]

Dot on is just that easy. All right, Court Comer. How can folks track you down?

[A]

LinkedIn. It's the best way to communicate. And TCU makes you have a LinkedIn account, so we all have one.

[B]

That's a, that is a unique aspect I hadn't thought about, hadn't run into. That's, that's terrific. In court, are you offering a, an audit of anyone's energy bills out there, you know, consulting there? Is that, is that something we can get from your Court?

[A]

I don't know. It should break it all down for you so you know what's going on.

[B]

That's right. I'm only missing. All right, good stuff. Court Comer, Joshua on ava Scotchi and Dr. Morgan Swink. Let's make sure folks know how to connect with you, get involved some of the program you've mentioned. Lots of different things that I would imagine. Hiring managers or startups or big businesses, retail, you name it. Won't be a part of. How can they track you down?

[C]

Yeah, love to have conversations with anybody who's interested. I'm on LinkedIn, of course, as well. Just Morgan Swank. You'll find me and then check out our programs. You just go to Neely tcu Edu and underneath the menu there you can find the center for supply chain innovation. Or even easier, just Google, csci, CU and you'll. You'll find us and lots of things to. To talk about and share for those of you who might be interested.

[B]

Plenty of opportunities to engage in a powerful community here. So good stuff. I want to thank Dr. Morgan Swink leading big things, big supply chain things, especially at TCU. Dr. Swink, thanks for being here again.

[C]

My pleasure. Thank you.

[B]

And thanks for bringing three incredible students. Thank you. Ava Scotchi, Joshua on and Court Comer. Thank you, each of y' all for being here, ensuring your valuable perspective on Supply Chain, on the change you want to drive, and on a really bright future we've got here in an industry that we all love. Big thanks to Dr. Stephanie Thomas, too, and Wise. So go check that out. Get involved with their incredible work supporting Supply Chain students everywhere. Big thanks to our wonderful audience out there, the SCN global fam. But you know the homework that we got to charge you with, right? Court and Joshua and Ava and Morgan shared a lot of great stuff here today. You got to take one thing, take just one thing, do something with it, right? Deeds, not words. That's how we're going to keep transforming global supply chain and leave no one behind. So on that note, on behalf the whole team here at Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton, challenging you. Do good, give forward, be the change that's needed. And we'll see you next time right back here on Supply Chain Now. Thanks, everybody. Join the Supply Chain now community. For more supply chain perspectives, news and innovation, check out supply supply chain now.com subscribe to Supply Chain now on YouTube and follow and listen to Supply Chain Now. Wherever you get your podcasts.