Alexis Kwak

2022 Newman Family Scholarship Recipient

My name is Alexis Kwak and I am a junior majoring in International Studies, Political Science, and Chinese with an Educational Policy Certificate. On-campus, I am involved in several student organizations and serve as President of both the Association of Women in Agriculture and the Political Science Student Association. I am also involved in organizations outside of Madison including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Committee on World Food Security – Private Sector Mechanism Gender Committee.

Coming from a small town in Northern Wisconsin, I was itching to learn more about the world. When I came to UW–Madison, I was able to take advantage of the opportunity to learn through the international studies major. I chose the international studies major because of the broad spectrum of information it provides about different aspects of culture, language, and politics across the globe. This led me to my global logistics internship with Chippewa Valley Bean which has shaped my goals in the global sphere. Throughout the summer, I spent my time communicating with over 100 customers in approximately 35 countries, digitizing shipping documents for over fifteen of our international customers, finding ways for the company to be more efficient, training new members of the logistics team, implementing a new documentation policy with our Italian team, and making personal relations with business professionals all around the world.

This summer, I will be interning with Land’s End as their Global Sourcing intern to gain more knowledge on trade imports and become a better-rounded member of the supply chain community. Upon graduation, I am planning to use my knowledge gained to attend graduate school in the area of Homeland Security. As for my career, I plan to enter the field of agricultural trade security and port infrastructure development to ensure that people around the world are receiving high-quality, safe products in a timely manner.

I am honored to have been chosen for the 2022 Newman Family Scholarship and thank the Newman’s for their continued support of women in the International Studies major.

Alexis’s Work: AgChat Supply Chain Episode