Steve Stein, Senior Manager Transportation with Danone, recognizes Scott Dunlap, 1^st place winner of the 2024 John J. Murphy Scholarship.

One of the tenets of Food Shippers of America (FSA) is to give back to the community. With this in mind, for many years FSA has been giving away scholarships to worthy applicants through the John J. Murphy Scholarship program.

Eligible applicants are children or dependents (including spouses) of a supply chain or logistics employee who is a member of FSA. This year, the association awarded scholarships to six applicants.

“The scholarship program is funded solely by the FSA membership dues and income from our advertising share and our printed magazine and newsletter,” says Steve Stein, Senior Manager Transportation with Danone, who has been volunteering to help manage the program.

According to Stein, starting back in 2011 FSA has given away 70 different scholarships and $275,500 in scholarship money.

“In the past 10 years I’ve been volunteering to help manage the scholarship program, I’ve been extremely impressed with a lot of these applications that come in,” continues Stein. “Some of these young people are doing amazing things and I don’t know how they have the time to do it.”

Here are the winners of the 2024 John J. Murphy Scholarship as awarded by FSA:

1st Place: Scott Dunlap (Parent: Todd Schultz, Bush Brothers & Co.)

Scott is a senior in high school with aspirations to major in Business and Supply Chain at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.

He has tremendous academic achievements, including an AP Capstone Diploma and a 4.63 GPA – placing him among the top 10% of his class. Engaged in dual enrollment at East Tennessee State University, he has earned the AP Scholar with Distinction award and has completed 13 AP classes and four dual enrollment classes.

“My sister and stepdad have been huge role models and have helped shape my educational goals and career path in business,” he explains. “They have taught me that in today’s interconnected world, where efficiency and seamless operations are vital, the role of logistics and supply chain management has become essential. With its central role in choreographing the flow of goods, information, and services, supply chain management presents an exciting and rewarding path. I’m eager to enroll in classes that will provide me with a strong foundation and teach me strategies to guide a company to success by helping develop new concepts, strategies, models, methodologies, and technologies for analyzing and enhancing the practice of supply chain and logistics engineering an management.”

2nd Place: Nicholas Ferrel (Parent: Hector Ferrel, McLane Foodservice/Vantix Logistics)

Nicholas is a senior in high school and planning to major in Business and Supply Chain. He is among the top 5% of his graduating class, and member of the National Honor Society and recipient of the National Hispanic Honor Award.

As I embark on my college journey, I am driven by a passion for business and a deep interest in the intricate world of supply chain management,” he says. “Pursuing a degree in business is a foundational step toward gaining a comprehensive understanding of the intricate dynamics that drive successful business.”

3rd Place: Stephen Venable (Parent: Brett Venable, Burris Logistics)

Stephen is majoring in Computer Science at Cedarville University in Cedarville, OH, where he is enrolled in the Honors program and has consistently achieved status on the Dean’s Honor List throughout his college career. Three years ago, he obtained an internship at Burris Logistics in the company’s IT department. Stephen says he plans to eventually pursue a Master’s degree in Computer Science or Cybersecurity.

4th Place: Celest Urdal (Parent: Tom Urdal, Bush Brothers & Co.)

Celeste will be majoring in Pre-Law after she graduates from Bearden High School this spring. She is a Knox County Board of Education Student Representative, member of the National Honor’s Society and AP Capstone Diploma Candidate.

Celeste has been a private English tutor for a Korean third grader, and an active volunteer with Second Harvest Food Bank and Tiny Trees, an organization that collects donated mini-Christmas trees and gives them to children at the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital.

5th Place: Aubrey Pixler (Parent: Holly Pixler, Ardent Mills)

Aubrey is majoring in Aerospace Engineering at University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, IN. There she is part of the Notre Dame Rocketry Team, which is designing and building a complex vehicle alongside a mission-oriented payload and then competes in the NASA Student Launch. She’s a member of the Society of Women Engineers and has volunteered with Top Soccer, which provides a safe and encouraging environment for children with developmental disabilities to play soccer alongside volunteers.

6th Place: Alexia Lindsley (Parent: Melissa Mock, American Foods Group)

Alexia is planning to major in Pre-Medical at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. She currently is finishing her senior year of high school. Alexia also has more than 100 volunteer hours involving such memorable experiences as food drives, a pen pal project with elementary school students through National Honors Society, and cooking breakfast for veteran staff members at her school on Veteran’s Day.

Click here for more information on the FSA Scholarship Program.

Related Articles:

• FSA Scholarship Program Details
• Storytelling: Attract & Retain Top Supply Chain Talent
• FSA Helping Individuals through Scholarships
• Navigating the Labor Shortage by Understanding Generational Differences

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