Justin Hill
Why Stop Now?
Haslam undergraduate alumnus and current Online MBA student Justin Hill (HCB, ’20) has always been interested in logistics—the operations involved in transporting people and things from place to place. The son of a Navy aircraft mechanic, Hill learned to fly and enrolled in air traffic control and flight management programs, intending to become an air traffic controller. However, his career took a new direction when he joined the U.S. Navy.
As a personnel specialist stationed in Bahrain and then Japan, Hill had multiple opportunities to witness ship cargo being loaded and unloaded, experiences that later provided insights into the business world and his career. “I was in awe of the massive scale of operations that it took to get things on and off the ship,” Hill says. “I saw the tip of the iceberg of how the supply chain industry works.”
After five years of managing Navy personnel records and payments, Hill decided to pursue a degree in finance. He looked at schools across the Southeast, but ultimately chose UT because of its veteran-friendly atmosphere and his childhood love of Vols Baseball. After moving to Knoxville, he also joined the Navy Reserve.
Hill was sold on finance until his supply chain courses led him to change his major. “I took a couple of supply chain classes and thought, ‘Hey, this clicks with my personality,’” says Hill. “I love the data analytics part of it, finding trends, and then visualizing it and telling that story.”
Haslam also prepared Hill for the civilian workforce and its different organizational structures. He worked for the transportation logistics company J.B. Hunt in Atlanta for a year and a half before a job opening and a budding relationship with his now wife, Iva, drew him back to East Tennessee. Hill currently works in procurement for Leidos in Oak Ridge.
Determined to take his career to new heights, Hill enrolled in Haslam’s Online MBA program, expecting to graduate in 2026. The program’s flexibility allows Hill, who works four 10-hour days each week, to complete coursework during his off hours. “A lot of companies, my workplace being one, value employees having an MBA because it shows you are continuing the learning process,” he says. “One thing my parents always taught me was that you might graduate, but you never stop learning, whether in school or out. So, why stop now?”
