Estée Lauder Companies establish The Estée Lauder Companies’ Supply Chain Scholars Program at Bucks County Community College

Estée Lauder Companies’ (ELC) executives recently announced a $200,000 donation to establish The Estée Lauder Companies’ Supply Chain Scholars Program at Bucks County Community College (BCCC), an innovative partnership between ELC, BCCC and Temple University’s Fox School of Business.

The donation represents the largest corporate award of its kind in the 60-year history of the college.

In the pilot phase, seven students were chosen to enter this new pathway program, which includes scholarships, internships and mentoring opportunities. The scholarships will help alleviate the students’ debt as they work toward their associates degree at BCCC, then attend Temple University with a focus on the study of supply chain management. Throughout their educational journey, the students will gain real-world insights as they complete internships at ELC’s facilities in Bristol.

At the Estée Lauder Scholars’ Award Reception held Feb. 22 in BCCC’s Tyler Hall, Kenneth Pickett, vice president, distribution and account services for North America, announced, “We are incredibly proud to further our philanthropic investments in the Bucks County community and build a pipeline of emerging talent, who can help strengthen our local distribution and manufacturing operations. We look forward to the powerful possibilities that this will unlock for ELC and the BCCC students.”

The proximity of BCCC to ELC’s facilities was an important factor in the design of this program. “We saw this great need to develop and attract diverse talent from our communities into the supply chain,” said Saverio Marcario, vice president, North America manufacturing. “And we saw, when speaking with the BCCC team, a marriage made in heaven that really allows us to bring that commitment to conscious inclusion and the communities in which we operate, [as well as satisfy] the need to prepare and develop a diverse workforce for the future. The marriage was too easy to put together and too hard to pass up.”

Dr. Felicia Ganther, president of the college, was naturally “super-excited” about BCCC’s partnership with ELC and Temple University. “I want people to understand that the college is not a destination, we’re a bridge to get people to whatever their career goals or aspirations are. This partnership with Estée Lauder does that, because the destination is getting those students into supply-chain jobs with very livable wages.”

With the Supreme Court debating President Biden’s plan to forgive or reduce student loans, the scholarship program couldn’t be more timely. “We have an urgency at Bucks County Community College, because we know that the idea of debt coming out of college oftentimes becomes an obstacle for people to pursue their dreams,” Ganther said.

Tracy Timby, interim associate vice president for strategic partnerships and workforce innovation, described the rigorous selection process for the scholars. First they had to complete a series of tasks, including a tour of ELCs’ facilities, a resume workshop, a mock interview, and a meeting with Temple University to learn about the study of supply chain management. Completion of those tasks “showed initiative, commitment, grit,” said Timby, “those soft skills that employers look for but don’t know how to quantify.”

Fulfillment of those steps made students eligible to submit a written application. Eighteen students were selected to be interviewed; from that pool, seven scholars were chosen as the pilot group.

BCCC student Priyal Patel had a part-time job working as an ELC packaging attendant. She was always wondering what type of job could come after this, and she had been thinking about majoring in supply chain. When Priyal heard about the pathway program, she knew it was “a package kind of deal, for me it was perfect.”

Harrison Longmuir’s marketing professor showed him the flyer about the ELC partnership and led him to websites about supply chain management. After attending information sessions, Harrison realized that “supply chain is the backbone of business and everything that goes on behind the scenes.”

The five other scholarships were awarded to Adrienne Allen, Jenna Huntzinger, Sara Miller, Justin Rosa and Chiyanne Wilson.

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