Today we’d like to introduce you to Joaquin Tapia.
Joaquin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born in 1989 in Orange County, CA. My parents migrated from Mexico to California in the early 1980s to chase the American dream. My parents worked two to three jobs at a time while I was growing up, and did whatever it took to put food on the table for us. The cost of living in California is high and we endured many tough times throughout these years, but we always managed to keep moving forward despite the hardships. After many years of hard work, they purchased their first home in Westminster, CA. In order to further their ambitions, my family made the decision to move to Fort Worth, Texas in 2003 to open up small businesses and continued to chase their American dream.
During my high school years in Fort Worth, TX, I played football, enrolled in honors classes, and worked every weekend at the family business. My summers consisted of work and football practice. I graduated at the top of my class in 2007 and attended the University of North Texas in Denton, TX to further my education. These were some of the best times of my life, and I was given the privilege to join the Sigma Nu Fraternity. We had too much fun, and I came out of my shell during these years. I continued to work in the family business throughout college. After four years, I became the first male in my family to finish college and I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice in 2011.
My original dream was to work for the federal government as a Special Agent in the FBI or DEA. I started my career after college as an Adult Probation Officer for Denton County in 2011. My time in the government was the biggest eye-opening experience as I dealt with some interesting situations every day. After two and a half years, I decided I needed a career change. I had the intention to pursue bigger goals as the government is a tough place to advance.
Since I was given the opportunity to learn how to manage a business at a very young age, I became obsessed with business. Especially large trucks! My family owned a small towing business when I was in my adolescent years. My favorite part of running a business was dealing with customers. I decided that I would go back to doing what I loved the most! I spent many hours looking for the right career. After a series of interviews, I landed a job at Ryder as an Operations Management Trainee in 2013. I was the guinea pig of this new program that provided recent college graduates with a fast lane into management. I worked at five different locations in the Dallas- Fort Worth Area. I strived to become a top performer and worked my way up into management.
In 2016, I went back to graduate school to pursue a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Dallas and graduated in December 2017. Throughout my graduate studies, I won a sponsorship to attend the annual CSCMP EDGE Conference in Atlanta where I was able to network with hundreds of individuals across the Supply Chain/Logistics Industry. After my graduation, I landed the biggest opportunity yet and I took on my next challenge. I took a promotion and moved from Dallas to Houston to become a Senior Maintenance Manager at Ryder. Today, I run nine maintenance locations across Houston/Southeast, TX which consists of 4,000+ vehicles, and 150+ employees. Houston is one of the fastest-growing markets in the US and I get to be part of the team that opens up two more locations this year. It’s been such a blessing to experience rapid career advancement with a Fortune 500 company. I’m happy to call Ryder my home!
I tend to work hard with any opportunity that challenges me mentally and physically. It is part of the way I was raised. My parents taught me how to endure hardships and how to overcome challenges by being highly passionate with my personal and professional goals. I always keep things moving forward and look at the silver lining in every situation whether good or bad.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I had a lot of challenges throughout my journey. I’ve been working since I was 15 years old. I didn’t enjoy any luxuries as a child. While working in the family business as an adolescent, we worked every holiday. It was tough working full time while pursuing my education. I didn’t really know what a day off meant while I was younger. There were many sleepless nights involved throughout the process. I never stopped and just kept my momentum throughout all of my struggles. There were times when I worked 14 hour days and came home to study and read all night. I never doubted myself, and others would call me “crazy” for doing what I was doing. The most important thing that I learned through my journey was to make the best out of things. I always tried to have fun and never let a bad day ruin my progress. When I started my career at Ryder I learned how to manage a business from the ground up and kept my head up the whole time. It was not easy, and I owe so much to the tenured managers that had faith in me to learn the business. Some days are very challenging to this day but those are the days where you figure out what you’re made of.
Please tell us about Ryder Truck Rental.
Ryder is a Fortune 500 corporation that provides transportation and supply chain solutions to many different organizations. Our clients range from other Fortune 500 corporations to small businesses that work in collaboration with Ryder. Our customers depend on our services and assets to support their supply chain distribution and fleet management solutions on a global scale. The company provides purchase options for used trucks through its vehicle sales program and continues to lead the industry as one of the most reliable transportation solutions provider. Our customers come from various industries including retail, food and beverage, automotive, and warehousing. Ryder’s customers depend on our assets to help them serve their customers.
My division is Fleet Management Solutions. We assist customers by optimizing their fleet uptime through contractual choice lease programs, maintenance solutions, and offer rental trucks to many types of organizations. My areas of expertise are operations, regulatory compliance, fleet management, financial management, customer relationship management, team building, and asset management.
I am a Sr. Maintenance Manager and manage the operations across nine maintenance locations across the Houston market. My areas of expertise are operations, regulatory compliance, fleet management, financial management, customer relationship management, team building, and asset management. I am most proud of the direction we are headed as we are highly involved with innovative projects across the company.
I think my work ethic and people skills set me apart from others. I can get along with anyone!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Nothing. I live life without any regrets and can’t see myself doing anything differently. I appreciate every struggle, life lesson, and experience in life.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ryder.com
- Email: joaquin_tapia@ryder.com
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joaquin-tapia-mba/
Image Credit:
Ryder System, Inc.
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