Yana Patel came to the Darla Moore School of Business with a goal of majoring in international business based on her experiences as a high-schooler with Key Club International — an organization that helps to bring education resources to other countries.
But after getting accepted into the competitive track following her freshman year, she decided — in part because she wanted to stay in leadership roles in several campus organizations rather than doing a semester abroad — that the highly touted program was not for her.
“Not knowing how college works, I talked to as many people as I could,” she recalls of trying to find her path after international business. Her resources included business school dean Rohit Verma, who comes from an international business background.
“He really took the time to talk with me about my decision,” she says. “I talked to every faculty member I could find. They didn’t tell me what to do, they asked me questions that helped me decide what was important to me.”
From there, she decided on a supply chain and operations major with a minor in political science and threw herself into her new major with her typical enthusiasm.
"Ever since our first meeting back when Yana had just started her journey at Darla Moore School of Business, she has left a lasting impression as a fiercely determined and ambitious student and budding supply chain professional," says Sanjay Ahire, professor of operations and supply chain management and co-director of the Operations and Supply Chain Center. "I am sure Yana will climb the ladder of professional success at lightning speed."
Patel also has worked as an ambassador for the Moore School of Business and serves as president of the Supply Chain Club.
"Yana has created and maximized her contributions to her individual academic and professional goals as well as helped numerous other peers within the OSC program and Moore School and USC," Ahire says.
Patel’s new path led her to defense contractor Lockheed Martin, where she spent the summer of 2025 as an intern. After she graduates from USC in May 2026, she will be part of the selective Operations Leadership Development Program at Lockheed. She is part of a 30-person cohort selected from 2,000 applicants.
“I talked to every faculty member I could find. They didn’t tell me what to do, they asked me questions that helped me decide what was important to me.”
The three-year program will move her to three different operations within Lockheed Martin in three different states, including her starting point of missiles and fire control in Orlando, Florida. Each rotation focuses on a different aspect of Lockheed’s business: production operations, supply chain and quality engineering. Subsequent locations could include space, rotary and mission systems or aeronautics.
The goal for the company is to create a leadership pipeline for its various operations. The company also has leadership development programs for engineering, finance and human resources.
“After my internship program ended, the rotational program was pretty much all my eyes were focused on,” Patel says. “I went through three rounds of interviews, but it was all worth it because I am going to get probably the best experience I could get anywhere.
“It's not necessarily a golden ticket, but it is a golden opportunity.”
Patel says USC’s highly ranked supply chain program gave her a leg-up on the competition for the program.
“Most of the people I interned with, the schools they come from don't have specific supply chain curriculum,” she says. “Most of them come from an industrial engineering background or industrial distribution or something like that. So I come in with so much supply chain knowledge, I’m kind of ahead of the curve.”
Patel says she plans to pursue an MBA while she is participating in the program and hopes to make her career working at Lockheed.