Savanna Denton is from a small town just outside of Columbus, Nebraska called Platte Center. Composed of 350 people it is more village than town. She attended a rural school called Lakeview. During her freshman year, like many students of her class, Savanna experienced the effects of the pandemic. Shutdown and shortages brought to light the importance of the supply chain and sustainability with a community. This stark reminder brought into focus an interest to the field, which led to her concentration in logistics and supply chain management.
“There’s got to be more to it than Covid,” she explains. “These are problems I like to solve. These are things I like to be doing on day-to-day basis. This is the world I see myself in after graduation.”
Being a full-time student, Savanna also currently works part-time at Valmont in Valley Irrigation. Though she did not have the intent to stay in agriculture, it happened organically through connections at college.
“It’s a good way to come back to where I came from,” she says, “but not without getting on the tractor myself.”
During her search for a college to attend, UNO drew Savanna’s interest with the availability of residential scholarships and, after a visit to the campus, the sense of kinship. “I liked the atmosphere here and the energy. It felt more like a community.” She toured with a friend which allowed her an insider perspective of life on campus from the dorms to the library to the student center to the area around the university.
It wasn’t always a linear path for her education though. Freshman year Savanna took an interdisciplinary class that was a pilot for the exploratory studies program. It pushed her to declare a foreign language major with a concentration in Spanish. Shortly after, she decided to alter her degree to include business and transitioned to the College of Business Administration with an additional BSBA major.
Like many students of the pandemic, her academic career was the combination of remote and in-person learning to which she had no issues with. Savanna is a self-starter and will search for knowledge if she feels the need to do so. Both formats have their value in her opinion, having access to the professors and peers during an in-class session being as equally fulfilling as online courses.
“I just accepted the circumstances and made the best of it. This is the way it’s going to be so I can choose to learn, or not.”
This driven, ambitious mentality that carries her through college blossomed as a junior in high school. After showing an interest in Spanish culture and language, Savanna had a chance to go to Peru in 2018 after doing her own research on organizations that offered aid-abroad trips. Her parents agreed only if she could fund and plan it. Sure enough, Savanna put in the time to raise the money, get her passport, organize the flights, and do the additional leg work to join the group heading to Peru for a student-led immersion experience with community work.
It was during a class project Savanna was exposed to Valmont, who is an active participant in many CBA events and activities. While interviewing a director of materials and supplies, she learned about the company and noticed that they had internships available. Taking the opportunity, Savanna landed the position and has been with Valmont for a year now.
Savanna plans to stay with Valmont after graduation. She has an offer from them in an associate salesforce business analyst role. Though not entirely logistics and supply chain related, she enjoys the analyst aspect of this opportunity. Her experience with the supply chain has given her a good perspective on what the customer wants to see.
Savanna anticipates growing with the company but is very open to new experiences and opportunities. Eventually she does want to be in a leadership position.
Her advice to incoming students? “Try everything,” she says, “whether it’s social activities, class, explore all your options. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Don’t be afraid to accept change. Find the subjects that interest you and turn your passions into a career.”