Student’s Plan for Successful Career Begins with Choosing Right Major and Minor

York College of Pennsylvania senior Tyler Hoff credits his rugby teammates with pointing him in the right direction.

Tyler Hoff '22 entered York College of Pennsylvania to study Biology, but it just wasn’t working for him.

"I got a pretty good GPA. I got on the dean's list, but it wasn't for me," Tyler says. "Then I started playing rugby, and a bunch of the guys on the team were in Marketing. I had already been thinking of going into business, but I didn't know which major to try. I was thinking Business Administration, which is sort of the jack of all trades, but they pointed me to Marketing. I liked it."

Tyler took an introductory course in supply chain management, and he found a topic in supply chain that interested him more than anything else.

"It opened my eyes,” he recalls. “Every one of the professors has been great."

The experience pushed Tyler to change his major, and he’ll graduate with a degree in Marketing and minor in Supply Chain Management. For the Middle River, Maryland native, York College—and his major—have been a perfect fit, setting him up for a productive future that’s already in sight.

Virtual career fair gets foot in the door

During his junior year, Tyler attended a career fair that was virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic. DHL Supply Chain, a global logistics provider and freight forwarding service, was one of the participants, and he researched the company before signing into the chatroom.

He was intrigued, but he didn't hear from the company right away. "I kind of forgot about it. I figured they found too many people," he says. Then DHL got back to him and set up a meeting with high-level executives. He had just a few minutes to impress them.

"It was kind of intimidating," he admits. But he got a foot in the door and spent a semester at DHL's Mechanicsburg warehouse, documenting the processes for a major account­—"so anyone else could step in to do the job"—and reorganizing the facility.

It was "an amazing experience," Tyler says. At the end of the internship, he and about 200 peers in the program attended a company event in Ohio for a big send-off and an unexpected bonus that impressed Tyler with how DHL cares for its employees.

Tyler is working until graduation as a part-time package handler for FedEx. After commencement, a job with DHL is waiting for him. 

Career will be a 'great fit'

Tyler will start in June 2022 as an operations supervisor at one of DHL’s sites in the Harrisburg region.

Tyler credits York College with honing his communication skills and getting him ready for the field. "I can talk to people very well,” he says. "But York made me more of a professional, so I can use those skills."

He hopes to advance into operations management and perhaps become the general manager of a warehouse, handling his own accounts. "Maybe even higher," Tyler says. "I have the drive."