Walton College Seniors Receive AWESOME Scholarship

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Stephanie Thomas (center) congratulates supply chain management seniors Abby Baird (left) and Anna Fredrick (right) for being selected as an AWESOME Scholar by Achieving Women's Excellence in Supply Chain Operation, Management and Education.

Achieving Women's Excellence in Supply Chain Operations, Management and Education, or AWESOME — a national nonprofit which advances and transforms the future of supply chain leadership — selected U of A students Abby Baird and Anna Fredrick, seniors at the Sam M. Walton College of Business, as AWESOME 2021 Excellence in Education Scholars.

"This is the fourth year in a row that University of Arkansas students have been chosen as AWESOME Scholars from a highly competitive group of applicants," said Stephanie Thomas, associate professor of practice in supply chain management and executive director of Women Impacting Supply Chain Excellence. "I am excited that both Abby and Anna were selected for this national award!" 

Twenty scholarship recipients, including Baird and Fredrick, will attend the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals conference in September in Atlanta and the AWESOME Symposium next summer. They receive a $5,000 financial scholarship for tuition and will have mentorship and networking opportunities with supply chain professionals. 

Baird and Fredrick will graduate from the U of A in 2022. Baird is pursuing a dual bachelor's degree in supply chain management and Spanish. She served as a vice president of internal operations and a director of member recognition for Women Impacting Supply Chain Excellence (WISE) student organization. She interned at Optricity, a warehouse optimization company, and Let's Talk Supply Chain podcast and blog.

Fredrick's focus is also supply chain management with a minor in business analytics. She serves as the president of WISE and previously served as the vice president of operations. She has interned with General Mills food company and SupplyPike, an automated software company for suppliers.