Yesterday when we went to Hydra Island, I was so excited to see the beautiful scenery when the ferry pulled up! It reminded me of Mykonos Island, as there was a cute little village with houses on the hills that overlooked the water. Hydra, however, was smaller and provided more of a local-friendly feel. One of the coolest things about Hydra is that there were no cars but donkeys instead were the mode of transportation around the island. Right once we got off the boat, we were so eager to find a way to access the water, so we did some discovering and found a rocky little cliff that overlooked the water. We were sunbathing and quickly got toasted from the heat, so we jumped into the water asap. The water was so refreshing from the heat; since it was so much saltier than the oceans we are used to, it was much easier to float! After a day of swimming, we met up with everyone for lunch on top of the mountain! For lunch, I got pasta with red sauce, and of course, there was a Greek salad with other appetizers. Hydra was such a good change of scenery, and it was so refreshing being so close to the water and being able to swim!

During two of our classes this week for our supply chain management class we got to meet with the US Embassy and ACG Office of Sustainability Speaker. I found both of these speaker presentations very interesting as well as insightful on potential career positions for myself in future. 

We spoke with three ladies from the Embassy but the main speaker was Yuri Arthur. Yuri Athur gave us lots of insight on what her roles for the embassy are and even some random odd jobs she has to do. Her first tip advice was to apply for jobs even if others may tell you you are underqualified, She talked to us about her own experience applying for jobs online and how often the online applications aren’t even seen by humans but are instead evaluated by the online system to see if you hit the right keywords to send it on to a real person for evaluation. Later on we were able to ask questions so I asked, “Out of all your experience and knowledge, what is the best thing you have learned that helps you in your career?” Yuri Arthur went on to answer my question by saying to be bold. As students, individuals are more inclined to say yes and assist us with our future professions, so she emphasized that reaching out to them on LinkedIn and simply asking them for career advice or to meet up in person is well worth it. By being bold and reaching out to others this will help expand your connections and give us lots of opportunities and insight on potential internships or later on careers. I loved this advice and I will push myself to take bold steps and to be confident in myself. 

From the ACG Center for Excellence in Sustainability we met with Rania Assariotak. Raina Assariotak is the senior sustainability manager at ACG, she explained to us her position at the college and how important it is in this position to stick to your values, which in her position is sustainability. This can be tested in this position especially when they deal with companies or people that donate to the school, where she has been put in the position to vote to decline the large donations as the person/company may not have the values the school promotes. Raina Assariotak continued by stating that when projects come up, they frequently ask their students for assistance. When a peer challenged her on this, she replied that if she didn’t trust the ACG students, she wouldn’t be doing her job properly and believing that ACG provides a high-quality education, which she firmly believes they do.

US Embassy: During this visit, the guest speakers were all very engaging and told us information that is beneficial to us and formed the visit around our questions. It was interesting to hear that none of them were expecting or planning on working for the embassy. Yuri Arthur was the main one to speak but she had a lot of insights and tips. The first thing that Yuri told us was she wasn’t planning on working for the embassy nor was she expecting to get hired. She first explained the application process. She said a person doesn’t automatically read your application, a computer system does.  Apparently, this computer system looks for the target words and how many times you used them. Yuri explained she thinks she was able to get through this first part because she is very wordy. Her advice was to keep reusing the main words. She then went on to explain that some questions will ask if you have certain skills or experience in something. She explained even if you don’t have that specific skill or don’t have the specific experience to explain an experience or skill that is similar. After the application process, she explained there is a stress test. After she went into further detail about her experience with the stress test she explained other aspects of the job.

She explained you have to move every 4 years. Luckily you get somewhat of a say where you go. She said you fill out a sheet with the top places you want to go and you will receive your assignment. Moving to a brand new country can be very scary but she explained the government helps you. She said they actually find you a house, pay for the house, and all the necessary things that we get for free in the United States. For example, their house is paid for, if they need clean water, and even their children’s tuition is paid for. She also explained sometimes you will get training or tips for the country you’re moving to. Whether that is learning the language or culture, but every country is different and so is the amount and duration of the training.

ACG Center for Excellence in Sustainability: On our first day of class we had Rania Assariotaki come visit us. She is the Senior Manager of Sustainability for The American College of Greece. A few things that I remember from her presentation are they listen to their students and have them help in easy ways. When they were getting students to use reusable water bottles, the students complained that there weren’t any drinking fountains to refill their bottles. So the school listened and put in drinking fountains. Or another situation was a student was talking to her about how they wanted to help but are only a history major. So what they did was have them stand in the front of the school holding a sign. Even though they don’t have a major relating to sustainability they were able to help out and make a difference.

Before going into this class I did not have much knowledge on supply chain management. In the last three days I have learned lots about sustainability and how it pertains to supply chain management. It is fascinating to learn about how sustainability comes into play within the supply chain and how many companies are aiming to become more green. Throughout class discussions, readings, and a special guest speaker Rania Assariotaki who is a senior sustainability manager at the American College of Greece, I have been able to further understand the importance of a green supply chain and the different ways to do so. 

There are lots of concepts that I have been introduced to within green supply chain management, one of those being greenwashing. The first thought that popped into my head when hearing it was brainwashing, and I was pretty spot on with that. Greenwashing is when a company falsely advertises or makes misleading statements of having a green/sustainable practice or product. Although I am not entirely shocked this happens, it is very sad to hear that companies do this to attract customers to their products instead of truly valuing sustainability. Now that I am aware of “greenwashing,” I know to conduct my own research on a brand to see whether it is truly sustainable, as well as perhaps doing my own research on the things I use every day that are marketed as “clean,” “green,” “eco-friendly,” or “sustainable.”

A concept that I knew pertaining to sustainability that I learned my first year at CofC are the three P’s: Profit, People, Planet. When this topic was covered in class, we learned that not all businesses prioritize the three Ps equally and are primarily concerned with maximizing profits. Although hearing this is distressing, there are a lot of positive developments that point toward a greener future, and in class, we have spoken about what is being done and how to proceed. A circular economy, commonly referred to as a close loop economy, is one approach. All actions and procedures that reduce, repurpose, and recycle resources throughout the production, logistics, and consuming processes are included in the circular economy. Reusing packaging is one example of a circular economy since it reduces waste and lowers the cost of purchasing new packaging. I also learned about the linear economy, which uses production processes and other transformations to turn natural resources into waste. 

As this class moves forward I am sure I will learn more about the green supply chain and be able to apply what I have learned to my daily life as well as my future career. 

Okay so I originally thought we had to cover all of those topics in our quiz 2 blog post… awkward. Anyways, since I already discussed our meeting with the diplomat, Yuri Arthur, instead i’ll talk about our day excursion to Hydra island.

Yesterday we took a day trip to Hydra. We woke up bright and early and met the group by 6:45AM and crammed into a lovely sprinter van. we made it to the port by 7:30 and took the next 30 minutes or so to grab a water and a snack before the bat ride. The boat took roughly two hours and stopped at one port before getting to Hydra. We walked off the boat to the most beautiful scenery with some of the clearest water i’ve ever seen. We grabbed a quick coffee as a group and then dispersed throughout the island. Tj, Abby, and I headed towards the water to find the best spot to sit and tan and take a dip in the beautiful water. Along the way we ran into our other classmates and we all went swimming and tanning together.

Tj and I then left to go more towards the town because lunch would be soon. We saw Professor Quesada and a few other friends and decided to stay in the area they were in and grab a few refreshments (where I actually had my meet a local interview with one of the restaurant workers !!) because we felt slightly dehydrated. Then we made our way to lunch at a lovely restaurant overlooking the port. I decided to have the grilled chicken breast for lunch and that came with salad and fries which was lovely. We finished lunch, changed into some dry clothes, and then everyone did a little shopping. I didn’t end up purchasing anything but I did get the chance to face time my mom and show her around and show her a bunch of stores. She never realized how beautiful the Greek islands were and we talked about coming back as a family sometime in the future. Tj and I grabbed some gelato before making our way towards the boat. Of course I chose to get Oreo and I even asked for a pink spoon (my favorite color !) We got onto the returning boat and made our way to our surprisingly comfortable seats where I treated myself to a nap and some light reading. We took our lovely sprinter van back to the residency and all took showers and relaxed from our long day. I treated myself to an early night and catching up on some of my favorite shows.