Collaborative. Enthusiastic. Generous. And very, very gracious.

Those are among the words Lecturer Gerry Holowicki picked to describe his student Vinu Sebastian. And Holowicki has more than a few anecdotes to offer up as testimony—chief among them, Sebastian’s leadership of the Supply Chain Association, the student organization to which he’s dedicated countless time and effort.

“Vinu started in a support role, but then ran for office and got others to run to help forge a new leadership team,” Holowicki said. “His involvement was an absolute godsend, timing-wise. The organization had a down year in the previous year, and Vinu stepped into the gap to begin to re-energize the organization, which is starting to come back to its previous high level of vitality.”

For example, Sebastian organized multiple plant tours and visits from guest speakers—events that Holowicki said play a crucial role in introducing students to career possibilities. “Vinu has very strong convictions about involvement outside the classroom and recognizes the difference it makes for other students, for the college, and for future employers.”

Sebastian, himself, has pursued his own out-of-classroom experiences within his industry, including an internship with Mack Trucks last summer. There, his team leader, Christopher Lindemuth was impressed by his adaptability and confidence communicating with a wide variety of people.

“His interpersonal skills allowed him to work with our blue-collar workforce on the floor and attend meetings with our white-collar workforce in an office setting,” Lindenmuth said. “Every interaction left us feeling that Vinu truly cared about his projects and the company as a whole.”

That approach should serve him well as he makes his own real-world contributions to the supply chain field following his graduation this December.