For Business Student, Teamwork Is the Tie that Binds Sports, Academics, and Career

The value of teamwork is a theme that has run through Miles Thompson’s (BA 4th Year) time as a student at Illinois Institute of Technology.

Teamwork certainly has been front and center for Thompson at Ekco Pool in Keating Sports Center, where he has been a top performer and a captain of the Scarlet Hawks men’s swim team, which ended the 2019-20 season on a high note by winning the Liberal Arts Conference Championship in February.

For Thompson, teamwork has been every bit as important for his academics in college as it has been in sports. As a business administration major with a specialization in supply chain management, he has taken many courses at Stuart School of Business that have emphasized project-based learning, with team projects that run throughout the semester.

“These [projects] have appealed to me because they highlight the value of teamwork and planning, like one would expect in a real job,” he says. “I thought they provided a great outlet for us to demonstrate the skills and application of the course material.”

Last summer, Thompson was immersed in teamwork, real-world style, during a 10-week internship with the Business Operations and Technical Support team in the supply department at Exelon Corporation in Chicago. He was involved in a variety of projects centered on providing colleagues with data, analyzing and redesigning company procedures, developing training materials, and other administrative tasks.

“It wasn’t until I finished my internship that I realized how well Illinois Tech prepared me for it,” he says. “School became even more interesting when I could see how what I learn in the classroom becomes a necessary job skill. I am still recognizing lots of concepts in the classroom that I saw play out in my internship.”

As graduation approaches in May, Thompson is looking forward to beginning his career with a position as an associate supply business operations specialist at Exelon.

“I think Illinois Tech has done a great job with getting its students comfortable working in teams, often with people you don’t know,” he says. “I love teams because they have the power of holding everyone accountable and they present a feeling of working for each other, rather than just for yourself.”

Photo: Stuart School of Business student Miles Thompson (provided)