Not long after Kevin Koval graduated from the Farmer School of Business in 2012, he found himself with an unexpected opportunity at his first job at a trucking division within Chrysler.

“My immediate bosses were of a very operational mindset, veterans of the industry. They knew everything there was to know about trucking. But one thing they hated — budgets and finance variances,” he said. “They weren't finance people. They weren't accounting people. So I raised my hand and I said, ‘Well, let me take this variance report.’”

That decision, Koval said, was his first interaction with senior management, and it got him noticed, something that can be hard to do in a company with 40,000 employees.

“One of the things that has benefited me the most is being able to find something unique, find a lane or an area, and run with it,” he said. “You might think it's small and trivial, but what you don't realize is if no one else is doing it, then you become ‘that person.’”

Now Strategy and Transformation Manager at EY-Nottingham Spirk Innovation Hub, Koval told students at his Supply Chain Executive Series talk about his career path. But he also encouraged them to look at different ways they could approach work that would benefit their career futures.

“Never stop learning. Your journey with education should never stop. There's always something to continue learning and making yourself better at, because that's ultimately what's going to differentiate yourself and set yourself up for success,” he said.

“Understand every bit of whatever company that you all go to work for, understand every bit of what they do,” Koval said. “If you can show and prove that you understand how things work, then the recommendations you make, the work that you do, the decisions that you make will become all the better, and they'll become even more impactful.”

He warned students against making their lives about their job. “You do not live to work. You work to live. Work is not who we are. It's only part of who we are, and it allows us to be who we want to be.”

“Find work you enjoy. Find something you're passionate about that makes your day, makes your life go so much easier,” Koval said. “If you can actually, legitimately say you enjoy what it is that you do, that's one of the best things you could have.”

He also noted that the students were already in a great place to learn, even if they don’t recognize it yet. “What you guys don't realize is just the inherent power of the way an education from Miami equips you in ways that you don't even realize. I didn't appreciate until a couple years after entering the workforce how truly valuable the way we're taught here is,” Koval said. “As you really dive into your internal disciplines and really get that experience and learn things, it gives you a perspective. It allows you to communicate better. It allows you to think differently. It allows you to think better than others.”

“This generation has the best toolbox at their disposal to do what's best for them,” he said. “Things are out there. You can't expect them to just be given to you. You have to show that you want it and you have to earn it.”