On November 5, 2020, IUP graduate Sarah Scruppi '18 and her director at US Steel, Ryan Piaggesi, spoke with students of the IUP Eberly College of Business and Information Technology about US Steel and internships.
Sarah is a Category Manager 1 in Global Procurement at the United States Steel Corporation; and her director, Ryan, is a Global Procurement director of CapEx and Services. Sarah was a supply chain/operations major while at IUP. She was a business honors student, leader of the Eberly digital marketing team, participant in the Discover Norway and Discover India international programs, student leader for the Women in Business Leadership Program, fitness instructor, and student assistant in the associate dean's office. Sarah volunteered at the Light of Life Homeless Shelter for Crossroads Church and held several internship positions prior to obtaining a summer procurement position with US Steel.
Ryan kicked off the presentation to students with an overview of the steelmaking process from raw material to finished product. As a steelmaking company that mines their own iron ore and produces their own coke, US Steel has a very transparent supply chain process. Ryan's high-level run-through of the process ended with where you typically can find US Steel's steel to show how vital the industry is to our lives in America.
Sarah then shared facts about how the company became a pioneer of how modern business runs, such as publishing the first annual report and having a formal board of directors, and how they coined the phrase "safety first." Being over 100 years old, they were able to be the firsts in many ways; however, US Steel continues to develop and follow the learnings of many successful organizations in terms of their inclusion and diversity efforts. Their goal is to ensure all of their employees can bring their whole selves to work every day.
Sarah gave an overview of her internship experience at US Steel and how it provided her with exposure to real-world career situations. All of her projects were implemented and capturing savings for the company by the end of her internship. She was able to secure a full-time position offer by the end of summer 2018 and has been with the Procurement group ever since. Sarah advised students to "get exposed to everything you can during your time at IUP. With the job market becoming increasingly more competitive, you need to distinguish yourself from your peers. Put yourself out there and get experience!"
Michael Elsen, general management and human resource management major, appreciated US Steel's presentation. "I really enjoyed the presentation from Sarah and Ryan; they were friendly, enthusiastic, and very knowledgeable. I was so excited about the presentation and the speakers that I applied immediately to the internship they were talking about."
Senior supply chain major Amara Dorcy also appreciated the opportunity to learn from US Steel. "I took a lot away from our speakers today. US Steel seems like an amazing place to work for many reasons. It was really refreshing to hear how they are very involved in including all groups of people and offering many diversity programs. Also, I was happy to hear that US Steel has their interns conduct important and real tasks for the company. Both Sara and Ryan took the time to discuss their everyday process and how their work is implemented in the supply chain. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to their presentation."
US Steel is asking that any interested applicants apply by November 19, 2020. Job postings can be found on Glassdoor and Handshake.
The Eberly College of Business and Information Technology appreciates the fact that our graduate, Sarah Scruppi, and her colleague, Ryan, were willing to share their experiences and US Steel opportunities with our students!