For the first time in the school’s history, a student graduating from an online program was selected as the featured speaker for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Graduate Hooding ceremony. Yolanda Buendia Barrientos, who earned a Master of Science in Supply Chain Management Online (MS SCM Online) from the Haslam College of Business, traveled from her home in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, for the occasion.
A Program Exemplar
Buendia Barrientos was selected for this honor because she represents a commitment to academic excellence and the Volunteer Spirit. Amy Cathey, Haslam’s associate dean for graduate and executive education, believes Buendia Barrientos epitomizes the qualities Haslam faculty and staff hope to see in their students.
“With her intelligence, dedication and generosity of spirit, Yolanda is an outstanding representative for the MS SCM program and Haslam’s graduate and executive education programs as a whole,” Cathey says.
Learning in a Supportive, Rigorous Program
With 19 years of business experience, Buendia Barrientos elected to earn a second master’s degree using a scholarship provided by her employer, automotive giant Cummins Inc. (a Supply Chain Forum member). She wanted to obtain a degree from a U.S. university with respected credentials, through which she could gain an in-depth understanding of end-to-end supply chain management. UT, which is home to the No. 1-ranked graduate SCM programs in North America, delivered for her. Through the MS SCM Online, she enhanced her skills in time management, critical thinking, leadership and collaboration.
In the online program, Buendia Barrientos also experienced teamwork in a global environment with different industries and functions. She further cited the program’s communication component as challenging her in novel ways.
“Specifically, doing executive summaries was new for me, as I had to align them with faculty standards,” she explained.
Buendia Barrientos was also impressed with the exceptional support she received from the staff and faculty.
“It was extensive,” she says. “From Pam Donovan, director of the MS SCM Online program, online program manager Hannah Carter, and her assistant, Taylor Husted, and from the faculty, all the time reachable to resolve doubts, provide wisdom, mentoring, and constructive feedback during the courses.”
Advancing Company Aims
Cummins, a longtime partner which regularly sends employees, including Buendia Barrientos, to participate in UT’s twice-yearly forums, plans to create an integrated, efficient supply chain positioned to lead in an ever-changing world. Combining her MS training with the multicultural, global perspective from her work in regional and corporate roles, Buendia Barrientos can stay ahead in the dynamic field and further her career at Cummins.
“Employees play a critical role in achieving Cummins’ goals, so obtaining the knowledge from this master’s program allows me to contribute to my company’s goal,” she says.
Pursuing More Than Career Goals
Beyond her work in the automotive industry, Buendia Barrientos is passionate about supporting her communities. She has been an active member of Cummins’s Every Employee, Every Community program since 2003. The program enables her to volunteer with several nongovernmental organizations, where she helped implement Six Sigma and project management tools. She received an Every Employee, Every Community award for this philanthropic work.
Unleashing the potential of Latina women by creating an attractive and equal work environment is another of Buendia’s ambitions. She deployed a Six Sigma project, Leading Gender Equity, which won the Global Business Award at her organization and was the basis for its Women’s Mentoring Program. More than 60 women have advanced their personal and professional development through the program since its implementation in 2020.
Buendia Barrientos is an active lay member of her Catholic community. For seven years, she led spiritual retreats for young single professionals, and for more than 13 years she has been a catechist at her local parish, sharing how her faith has contributed to her inner strength and resilience.
Watch Buendia Barrientos’s speech, starting at 34 minutes, and read the full speech transcript below. You can also read about her experience on the UT Graduate School Facebook page.
Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed faculty and staff members, cherished family and friends, and, of course, dear fellow graduates of the class of 2024, on this significant occasion, I stand before you with a humble but grateful heart, full of excitement.
Today, we are gathered in this remarkable venue to commemorate our achievements in graduate and professional studies, as they are the result of undeniable and persistent hard work, unwavering dedication, and steadfast perseverance.
I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our beloved family, friends, and colleagues for their sacrifices, encouragement, support and for being our constant sources of love. You believed in us, and that kept us motivated throughout this journey.
To our outstanding faculty and dedicated staff, we owe you a profound debt of gratitude as well. This meaningful milestone couldn’t have been reached without your wisdom, guidance, and mentoring. You were critical in shaping our path at Rocky Top.
As part of my path, in order to foster a personal balance, I enrolled in a ‘Theology of the Body’ course to nurture another wellness dimension, the one related to my spirit. While navigating this course, one message that captured my mind and heart was the invitation to become a gift. Saint John Paul II proposed that humans are a gift to each other; therefore, each of us is called to receive each other as a gift.
At first, it was challenging for me to understand this. But it became clearer when I remembered a specific Christmas season when my grandmother prepared all the Christmas gifts for me and my cousins months in advance.
I remember how, when visiting Grannie’s house, after giving her a kiss, the next logical step was to head to the Christmas tree so that I could search under it for the gift with my name on it. I remember the anxious feeling when I found the gifts for my cousins but not mine. I also remember the victorious sensation when I spotted my gift with this beautiful Christmas wrapping and the anxious feeling again, day after day, while guarding my gift until Christmas Eve, when most families in Mexico do their gift exchange.
When I finally received my Grannie’s gift that Christmas, I opened it quickly and discovered that it was a poncho, a knitted poncho—not a Barbie, not a toy. A poncho. The only thing that comforted me a little bit was to see that all my cousins had received the same gift. At least, we were even.
Year after year, as my sister and other cousins were born, I knew that for sure, their Christmas gift would be a knitted poncho. It wasn’t until I was a young adult that I appreciated this gift from my Grannie when I valued all her effort to knit that beautiful flower pattern in my poncho and all the time and months invested not only to knit my poncho but the ones for all my cousins.
My Grannie gave of herself during all those months, knitting for so many grandsons and granddaughters. She did it because she loved us. By knitting, she was sincerely giving of herself. Now, I can see that she was the real gift. And that gift continues to give. Her love now is wrapping some of my nieces, as my cousins had stored their own ponchos, so their daughters are now wearing them.
My invitation for you today is to become a gift and honor the Volunteer spirit by developing a heart of service, even in your daily tasks. No matter how mundane or challenging they might look, all these are opportunities to serve.
To perform with all your heart, whatever you do.
To give of yourself and become a beautiful gift not only to be given, as my poncho, during a specific season, but a gift to be granted every day, in every activity you do.
To adopt an attitude of service and be challenged to work with integrity, excellence, and compassion, reflecting your capacity for love in everything you do.
I hope this advice brings you encouragement and a renewed sense of purpose in your routine tasks, future endeavors, and life projects.
Congratulations, class of 2024. Wrap yourself up as a beautiful gift, and ‘Go Vols!’
Learn more about the MS SCM Online Program, including key dates, informational webinars, testimonials from graduates, and registration information. Fill out the form below to request more information.
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