Natascha Zelloe ’17

1. What was your major/minor and when did you graduate?

Double Major in Business Administration w/concentration in Marketing & Luxury Fashion 2017

2. What is your current position (title, company, location)?  Can you describe a typical day?

Purchasing & Supply Chain Management Director at Raloid Corporation in Reisterstown, Maryland.

A typical day at work consists of project(s) management with office team, scheduling and attending meetings with clients and vendors, coordinating with Vice-President for bidding on obtaining quotes for materials and other products and creating purchase orders, researching raw materials and hardware and various sources, reading schematic drawings for necessary items to purchase, continual work as part of team working on obtaining new sales and clientele.

3. How did your major prepare you for your current job?

Time management, keeping focus on objectives, and coordinated ego-free team work were  my biggest takeaways from my Majors at UMW. While at UMW, the continual demands of working on team projects, managing time between my classes and management of meeting deadlines and objectives of class/professor demands, and realizing what was needed to obtain both my own and the professor’s desires  were major takeaways for me.

4. How did you become interested in your field?

While studying at UMW, my passion for combining luxury fashion and business development evolved. This led me to obtaining a one semester of undergraduate while here at UMW –and its scholarship for study abroad.  This semester propelled me into my graduate program in Milan, Italy where I will be receiving my MBA in Business & Brand Management as well as an additional Masters in Luxury Fashion in January 2020. Although I originally wanted to stay within the fashion industry as a Merchandiser or Buyer, I came across an opportunity to work in the aerospace industry with companies such as Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, Boeing, and Raytheon. I soon became fascinated with the industry and was able to adapt and transfer everything I had learned in buying and merchandising-to apply it to the supply chain of the aerospace industry- and to learn and thrive in a new environment.

5. What’s the best career advice you ever received?

Go with your gut, stay focused while following your dreams sometimes through deviated paths, and remember to look in the mirror and stay true to yourself.

6. Was there a professor, advisor, or fellow student who made an impression on you or helped you when you were at UMW?

Kevin McCluskey and Kim Gower are my two biggest influencers! Both of these fantastic professors each had a solid influence in my decisions throughout my Undergrad education. I learned multiple valuable lessons from each of these professors, and am forever thankful for them.

7. What’s your fondest memory of UMW?

The relationships, bonds, and friendships I created with my professors and classmates.

8. Are there any special accomplishments you’ve achieved after college that you’d like to share?

I was able to work as an external consultant for the United Nations working on a sustainability project. I also worked on creating a blockchain application for a luxury fashion company as an external consultant. In addition, as the Lead Buyer/Purchaser for an aerospace company, I was able to work with Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin, biding and placing over $ 4.2 million in annual purchases; increasing sales by over28%, and obtaining a 38% growth in additional clients on an annualized basis.

9. How would your family or friends describe you in seven words or less?

Objective-focused, petal-to-the metal team player.

10. In one sentence, what advice would you give current business students? 

Analyze and consider every potential opportunity you are introduced to with an OPEN mind, and realize you can make something out of the insurmountable or inconceivable if you put your rational mind and soul into it!