UToledo Helps Prepares Grad Student and Veteran for His Future in Operations

Thomas McGilvery discovered his passion for business operations and supply chain management in the Marine Corps and followed that passion to The University of Toledo.

"I loved the idea of eliminating waste," he said. "The military reinforced my interest and UToledo gave me the desire to learn more about operations."

Thomas McGilvery graduated from Liberty Center High School in May 2017 and began boot camp in June. He served for 5 years and 2 months in the U.S. Marines and served as an operations clerk in recruitment in Cleveland in 2019. McGilvery was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 2021.

"The military was a very challenging and rewarding experience," McGilvery said. "I recommend anyone considering the military to reach out to a recruiter."

McGilvery began taking classes at Owens Community College while in active service and ultimately transferred to The University of Toledo in 2022 for his bachelor's degree in operations and supply chain management and is now finishing his master of business administration degree in operations and supply chain management.

During his time in the military, he found a deep interest in operations through his participation in Lean Six Sigma (LSS).

"The fascination for operations was always there; I gathered the tools required to perform the job during my time at UToledo," McGilvery said.

McGilvery found the Military Service Center to be a great resource during his time at UToledo. The Military Service Center provides service members and their families access to an accessible education, degree completion opportunities and customized support services.

His time in the military opened the door to the complex world of operations, he said, and how businesses can more efficiently operate. McGilvery found the operations and supply chain management courses to be engaging.

"It is important to ask questions," he said. "You always need to ask questions because chances are, another student has that same question."

McGilvery took several courses with Dr. Benjamin George, assistant professor in the Department of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management. George said he found McGilvery to be a very engaged and dedicated student.

"Thomas is an extremely hard worker and has a great enjoyment in the concept of learning itself," George said. "He did well in my courses, even with having to deploy to Okinawa for a portion of one, and provided consistent engagement in class with me and his classmates. He enjoys asking questions that applies the concepts to a context, or more appropriately he is one of those rare students who wants to know not just the why and the how, but also the what and the where."

Operations wasn't the only thing that drew McGilvery to UToledo. He also has a long family history of Rocket graduates.

His father, mother, brother and sister all graduated from UToledo, making him the fifth and final McGilvery to graduate, though he will be first UToledo graduate degree holder in the family.

"The other four members of my immediate family have all graduated from The University of Toledo," he said. "I really liked the legacy idea, so UT seemed like an obvious choice."

After he graduates in December, he plans to follow his dreams of becoming a successful musician. McGilvery is the singer and songwriter for his band, Drifted.

"I've always had a love for music ever since I knew what music was. It would be an injustice to myself to not pursue my dreams."

He plans to keep operations and supply chain management in his sights though, searching for a company that is a good fit for him.

McGilvery said he is thankful to the professors at UToledo who prepared him for his future.

"I'm confident that I have the proper tools and experience to succeed within the field of operations."

UToledo is honoring veterans with the 21st annual Veterans Appreciation Breakfast and Resource Fair to support area veterans on Tuesday, Nov. 11, in Savage Arena.

Scheduled from 8 to 11 a.m., the free event is open to all current and former military members and their families. Along with breakfast, the event will feature guest speakers as well as various resources to connect individuals with more than 35 military-specific community organizations.