KINGSTON, R.I. – May 11, 2018 — When University of Rhode Island senior Philip Nemirow stepped on the Kingston campus, he knew he had found his niche. URI, after all, was the only university he applied to because he knew the school’s College of Business had a strong reputation.

What the Warwick native didn’t know was that his intended major of accounting wasn’t right for him. Instead, he found the supply chain management program, which was named among the top programs in the country by CamCode.com, was better suited to his interests.

“I went to this mandatory meeting where the professor spoke about supply chain management, and it was like ‘Whoa.’” Nemirow said, describing the moment he decided to enter the program. “There’s a huge job market in supply chain management and it’s fun. It makes sense to me.”

The URI supply chain management major focuses on the strategic planning, design, operations, transportation, logistics and improvement of all activities involved in the procurement, manufacture and delivery of goods and services.

A dean’s list student, Nemirow secured an internship at Narragansett Brewing Co. in 2017 and the experience confirmed his interest in the field. The legendary local brewer gave him insight into the craft beer industry, but also helped him develop skills that apply more broadly to supply chain management in other fields as well.

“I spent a lot of my time working on market identification, aggregating data to find grocery store chains located in the South such as Publix, where Narragansett might be able to gain distribution,” he said. “I made a lot of contacts with distributors, so I’m hoping to leverage that into a job after graduation.”

Nemirow also said he’s considering a career in event management, based on his time working with URI’s Student Entertainment Committee. Nemirow has been a part of the SEC for three years, including his senior year as chairman of the committee. He also worked as secretary/treasurer and public relations coordinator of the organization.

Nemirow had a chance to meet celebrities such as Steve Martin, Martin Short, Jay Leno, Bill Nye the Science Guy and Whoopi Goldberg, which was exciting for him, but not as rewarding as the satisfaction of putting on an event enjoyed by his fellow students.

“I love going to shows and meeting the acts was always great,” he said. “But no one really knows what it takes to put on a great show. I enjoyed making the college experience better for students. To hear them talking the next day about a show you helped put on was a great feeling.”

Creating an enjoyable experience has been a part of Nemirow’s personality since his days as an Eagle Scout. For his service project, Nemirow restored the Pawtuxet Village Green’s gazebo, which had been vandalized over the years with graffiti and had fallen into disrepair. Nemirow stripped the gazebo, sanded and painted it, restoring it to its original look and enhancing the public gathering space for the city.

“I completed it in November 2014, just before Hannukkah, so they decorated it with lights and it looked amazing,” he said. “That was the first time it had been painted since the early ‘90s.”