Student Profile

Empowering Dreams: A Journey from Personal Impact to Global Supply Chain Leadership

Being a Latin woman within the Supply Chain industry and the only Puerto Rican in this year’s MIT SCM Residential program, I constantly think about the importance of continuing to support girls to dream BIG!
Written by Yaniliz Rivera Valentín

When my career started, the decision to stay in the healthcare industry was driven by an impactful personal experience; my sister went through an open-heart surgery. I immediately knew I wanted to pursue a career within the healthcare industry. Following that mission, I decided to join one of the most lifechanging healthcare industries in the world. As I reflect on my previous experiences, the MIT SCM Program offers the perfect opportunity to gain additional understanding of how Supply Chain environments operate, and as a result, strengthened my ability to impact people’s lives through my daily work.

My life’s mission and career has shaped me to become a professional with a high sense of responsibility, passion about cultivating partnerships, and desire for making an impact on the world. As one tries to approach a complex problem within any field, one of the most impactful ways to tackle it is to bring diverse perspectives into a competitive environment to drive positive results. This is exactly how I’ve been working since the SCM Program started. The MIT SCM cohort and MIT Academic environment provide such a rich and diverse multi-cultural atmosphere that allows students to approach every challenge with a high sense of competitiveness while respecting everyone’s contributions. And that’s where the beauty of this program is: 70% of the class comes from an International Country and 30% of the class is represented by women.

Being a Latin woman within the Supply Chain industry and the only Puerto Rican in this year’s MIT SCM Residential program, I constantly think about the importance of continuing to support girls to dream BIG! One day it was me dreaming about being HERE, and now here’s me showing up to support you on your journey. 

My vision for my future is to focus on continuing to reduce complexities within global environments; and drive Supply Chain agility and responsiveness through innovative solutions, while accelerating the ability to bring life-changing products to customers in more efficient and effective ways. Today I can reiterate that the MIT Supply Chain Management Master’s Program is definitely the best vehicle to gain the necessary tools to fulfill that vision.