On Wednesday, August 29, students, academics, and professionals were hosted by METRANS, the Port of Los Angeles (POLA), and the US Navy on a pre-Fleet Week, private tour the USS Dewey, an active guided-missile destroyer docked at POLA for Fleet Week 2018, and the USS Iowa, a docked, retired battleship.  Fleet Week is an annual event, held each year over the Labor Day Weekend, which brings active forces and ships to POLA for an exciting opportunity for the public to get a glimpse of Navy life and the advanced naval transportation and technology which protects our nation.

Participating in this activity and visiting the guided-missile destroyer and battleship was certainly a unique experience. At the event, the crew members of the USS Dewey and USS Iowa gave us an exclusive tour of the ships with detailed explanations of their functions and workings. The organized visit not only allowed attendees to enjoy touring the guided-missile destroyers (Dewey is an active one!) and battleship, but also helped them connect with individuals (students and professionals) who shared treasures of their own experiences. Furthermore, interfacing with the Navy was a valuable academic experience as the Navy is a national benchmark in project management and teamwork systems.

I was one of the fortunate transportation students afforded this opportunity.  Upon working professionally for many years in operations, a field of which I am very fond, I decided to further my transportation knowledge by pursuing a Master’s in Supply Chain Management (SCM) from CSULB. In my first year at CSULB, I had the opportunities to work with the Center for International Trade and Transportation (CITT) and collaborate on a live project with Boeing. After these two roles, I became more curious of logistics operations and sought avenues to explore this interest.

I definitely look forward to more opportunities for networking and rare visits to exciting places and events with METRANS. METRANS hosts field trips, speaker events, a mentor program, and more, and I highly recommend anyone and everyone take advantage of these events and programs arranged by METRANS.

About the Author

Purva Sawant is currently pursuing an MS – SCM from CSULB. She has an undergraduate degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering and a Master’s degree in Management Studies with a specialization in Operations. Ms. Sawant has been employed as a consultant with Morgan Stanley (vendor site) for 2.5 years and with Lauren Information Technologies (employer).