Double major alumna merges globality of international business with specific skillset of supply chain

International business and operations and supply chain alumna Taahera Islam, ’25, points to the Darla Moore School’s rigorous academics, real-world experiences and intentional mentorship opportunities as the main factors that cultivated her growth as an undergraduate student.

Islam’s journey demonstrates that the Darla Moore School of Business’s high rankings, combined with the meaningful opportunities the school provides, create an environment where students can truly excel. In September, the Moore School’s undergraduate programs were ranked No. 1 in international business and No. 15 in supply chain, according to U.S. News & World Report.

“What I value most about USC and the Moore School is not just the rankings, but the culture of investment in students. My story reflects that,” she says. “The international business program gave me a global lens; the operations and supply chain program gave me the operational toolkit; and the mentorship I received gave me the confidence to believe I belonged in the top 0.1 percent of business graduates.”

Part of Islam's story also includes participating in the Moore School’s award-winning Rising Scholars program, which connects first-generation, low-income and South Carolina-resident Moore school students with scholarships, peer and faculty mentors and a community focused on shared success.

Islam’s growth at the Moore School has created a “passion for logical problem-solving, process efficiency and global human connections that drove my pursuit of operations and supply chain and international business,” she says.

She credits the foundational IBUS 310: Globalization and Business course with confirming her commitment to pursuing international business.

“IBUS 310 is the class that first pushes students toward developing a truly transnational mindset, which I think is vital to understanding the purpose of international business education as a whole,” she says.

Along with IB, Islam says a moment of clarity that reshaped her academic path came during an introductory business class led by operations and supply chain professor Sanjay Ahire. She says Ahire’s infectious passion for operations and supply chain management inspired her to switch to OSC from economics.

Applying the business skills she learned, studying abroad proved to be one of the most defining moments of Islam’s academic journey, expanding her global perspective and deepening her understanding of international business.

“The most transformative academic experience was studying abroad in Istanbul through the IB program,” she says. “Living between two continents, engaging with global peers and navigating cultural and business challenges shaped my worldview. I saw firsthand how supply chains, politics and culture intertwine, how decisions in one country ripple globally.”

Back on campus, Islam found countless opportunities to strengthen her professional skills and connect with industry leaders, particularly through experiences in the Moore School to prepare students for real-world success.

Along with the Moore School, Islam was also enrolled in the SC Honors College, where she participated in the Washington, D.C., semester program. The SC Honors College also shares a top ranking among public university honors college programs.

Beyond the classroom, Islam credits the operations and supply chain career workshop with preparing her for her future career.

“Every fall, the department hosts a full-day session where students network with faculty and alumni, build a supply chain–tailored resume and hear from an alumni panel spanning Tesla, Amazon, SpaceX and more,” she says. “It’s uniquely intentional — and the program truly invests in students’ career readiness.”

Islam’s hard work and excellence in supply chain management were recognized on a national level, earning her one of the most prestigious honors in her field.

“The defining achievement was becoming a 2024 Richter Scholar. The R. Gene Richter Scholarship is a national fellowship that supports top supply chain students with funding, mentoring and networking,” she says. “Receiving it validated the rigor of my work and reaffirmed my commitment to the supply chain profession.”

Hands-on learning was another foundation of Islam’s Moore School experience, allowing her to apply what she learned in the classroom to real-world business challenges.

“In project-based courses and the OSC capstone course, doing work for real companies — building models, suggesting implementations, presenting to senior leadership — was what converted theory into muscle memory,” she says. “I was also able to acquire my Sonoco Products Company/Operations and Supply Chain Center Lean-Six Sigma Green Belt certification. This increases the likelihood of employment post-grad greatly and is no doubt one of the main reasons for the OSC program’s high ranking.”

For 2025-26, Islam is participating in the IB Oxford Scholars Program, where she is studying international politics, law, business and theology.

Islam says she chose the program because, she believes that “international business education should prepare us not only to navigate markets but to also think critically about the people, politics and ethics that shape them,” she says. “The Oxford Program offers exactly the kind of intellectual and cultural ecosystem I have always sought — one that values questioning over conformity and dialogue over dogma.”

She plans to begin in August 2026 as a cloud and digital consultant in PricewaterhouseCooper’s Oracle Supply Chain Practice.

-Amanda Green