Brewing Your Next Chapter: Translating Supply Corps Skills to Starbucks

In this episode of Exit Buddy: Veteran Stories to Guide You, we meet Stephanie West, a Navy veteran who charted a course from the supply lines of the military to the heart of Starbucks operations. She discusses joining the Navy at 17 through the Buddy Program, how she turned night classes into degrees (all the way to an MBA), how her passion for Starbucks’ business model became her civilian north star, and why she’s still thriving there a decade later. Stephanie shares candid stories and tips for navigating culture shock, imposter syndrome, and networking. Whether you’re looking for proof that military logistics translates directly to corporate America or simply need a dose of “yes, it can work out,” Stephanie’s story inspires.

Chapters

• 01:13 - Joining the Navy at 17 With a Buddy
• 02:40 - Stephanie’s Pursuit of Education
• 05:15 - Falling in Love with Starbucks While Stationed in Italy
• 06:55 - Stephanie’s Starbucks Role: Keeping 10,000+ Stores Brewing
• 08:32 - Culture Shocks: Language, Insurance & Leadership Style
• 11:00 - Why She Stayed 10 Years (and How You Can Too)
• 14:53 - Giving Back with Compass USA
• 18:42 - Stephanie’s Simple Secret: Networking Is Just Talking
• 22:07 - Final Advice: Stay Open-Minded & Give It a Real Chance

Key Takeaways

• Military Logistics = Corporate Gold: Supply Corps skills like Stephanie’s experience with parts, budgets, and feeding the troops translate well to the civilian world. Don’t underestimate how your skills can be leveraged post-service.
• Give Yourself Time to Assimilate: Imposter syndrome is real, but rushing out of a new job in the first year robs you of the chance to grow into the role. Seek out veteran networks, resource groups, or buddy systems in your workplace to ease the transition.
• Networking Doesn’t Have to Be Scary: Networking is as simple as a conversation. Start with your family, your old shipmates, or the person next to you at an event. “It’s really not scary—it’s just talking,” encourages Stephanie.
• Give as You Go: Volunteering and mentoring aren’t just ways to serve—they also help you build new purpose and connections as you carve out your next chapter.
• Stay Flexible: Your first civilian role may look different from what you expect. Keep an open mind, be willing to adapt, and let unexpected opportunities become new launching pads.

Follow us for more veteran stories to guide your transition journey, and text this episode to a fellow service member who’s navigating their exit. Until next time, keep brewing your next chapter.

Visit us at https://exitbuddy.buzzsprout.com to learn more about the show.

Have feedback or questions for us? Email us at ashleyjones.creative@gmail.com.

Transcript

Kathleen Smith 00:27 Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Wherever you are in the world today, welcome to another episode of Exit Buddy: Veteran Stories to Guide You. In our studio today, I have someone I’m so appreciative she allowed me to stalk her on LinkedIn because I just loved her background and I thought she would be such a great guest. So I am thrilled to have joining me in the studio Stephanie West, a Navy veteran who probably knows a thing or two about a good cup of coffee, being the Supervisor of Distribution Operations at Starbucks. Stephanie, thanks for joining us today.

Stephanie West 01:10 Thank you so much for having me.

Kathleen Smith 01:13 So I hear you joined the Navy at 17 through the Buddy Program, and since you’re joining us on Exit Buddy today, it sort of feels fitting to start with that discussion. Help people understand how a buddy helped shape your early days in the military.

Stephanie West 01:35 I don’t know if they still offer the program, but when I joined the Navy in 1999, my best friend from up the street and I decided to join the Navy together. That meant we got to leave for boot camp together and we were able to stick together throughout the whole basic training before we took different journeys on to our specific jobs. It was actually very helpful having somebody that I knew going into the program with me. It just made it a lot easier and more comfortable, especially being so young. It wasn’t as scary having somebody with you.

Kathleen Smith 02:23 Yes, always having a buddy along the way really does help. It sounds like you joined the Navy with some higher education goals in mind. How was the pursuit of education something that shaped your military career?

Stephanie West 02:40 Yeah, I think for me, I always wanted to go to college. Typical small-town life—one working parent—I didn’t grow up with a financial background that let me choose whatever college I wanted. So I needed to make my own way. That really helped fuel my entire naval career, honestly, because I had such a passion for education. I basically just started with some night classes, and before I knew it I was achieving my associate’s degree. I had the college fund when I signed up, something I had planned to use when I exited the military, but then I just kept going with my education. I had a lot of mentors along the way encouraging me to keep working on it. That actually led me into the opportunity of Officer Candidate School. For those who aren’t familiar with that, it’s a program for military members who already have a degree; they can apply to go from enlisted to Officer Candidate School and then move to the officer side of things. That’s what I did. Even after that, I just kept going. Once I became an officer and went to Supply Corps school, I kept working on my master’s on my own. I just never quit, and I think that was really helpful.

Kathleen Smith 04:29 Well, as my father always said, persistence and perseverance are two things that have helped me throughout my career. I see in my notes you went to an MBA program in Italy—is that right?

Stephanie West 04:43 I was actually stationed in Italy for a few years, and that’s when I finished my bachelor’s degree. After I transferred from Naples, Italy—which was amazing, by the way—I was able to come back to the States for a while, and that’s when I started working on my master’s in business administration through American Military University. So my journey sort of started in Italy, but it finished here.

Kathleen Smith 05:15 Ah, yes, Italia. Love me some Italia. So you landed at Starbucks, a company you had been passionate about since your days in Italy. How did that passion guide you through your transition and help you secure your job?

Stephanie West 05:31 Yeah, I always say I was mildly obsessed with Starbucks—not just the coffee, but actually the entire business model. Seeing what Howard Schultz was trying to build, and living in Italy, I was a huge supporter of bringing that to America. All through my MBA I studied Starbucks; I wrote papers on the business model. I was always amazed at how Howard Schultz was able to make such a large company feel so small. Everyone is a partner; we’re not just employees. We all have ownership in the company. So when the opportunity came up, I was originally trying to apply for an internship through the Supply Corps that offers a year or two at Starbucks. I actually ended up applying for the position and didn’t have to do the internship, so I was able to transition from my military time straight to my role now, and that’s where I’ve been for the last 10 years.

Kathleen Smith 06:48 Just tell us a little bit about your role right now. What is operations distribution?

Stephanie West 06:55 Right now I am the lead planner and forecaster for all parts for all the machines that do our brewing in North America. So every time you go get that latte or iced coffee, I’m responsible for making sure your machines are working. That’s what I do. Right now we’re the only department—with nine people—that services all of North America. It’s quite a big job, especially with over 10,000 stores and not quite so many people. Similarly, in the military I was a Supply Corps officer, so I did all the logistics—making sure we fed the troops, ran the ship store, did all the parts for aircraft and the ship, and also managed budgets and financial aspects. It all kind of aligns with what an MBA entails, and that’s exactly what I did in the Navy and exactly what I’m doing now.

Kathleen Smith 08:14 It really just sounds like you switched uniforms. Sometimes people want to do that, sometimes they don’t. What were any of the initial surprises or culture shocks when you first entered your job at Starbucks?

Stephanie West 08:32 Yeah, I think the first culture shock is just the language barrier. There’s corporate language and there’s Navy language. Sometimes I’ll still slip up and say something like, “Oh, we don’t have the manpower for that,” instead of “we don’t have the labor for that,” and my boss always thinks it’s hilarious when I say stuff like that. So the language is definitely a big part. Also, navigating health insurance—that was really tricky. In the military you have TRICARE and everything’s taken care of. You get sick, you go to the doctor. In corporate life it’s a lot different—you’re paying for your own medical, you have all these tiers; it’s very convoluted. So that was a huge challenge as well. I definitely think the leadership style was a huge transition. Actually, for me, it was better on the civilian side because I like to involve all of my people in decision-making. Sometimes in the military, as a leader, you’re solely responsible for all the decisions, and I like to have the input of everyone around me, especially when they’re going to be the end user. Those were some of the biggest things that were challenging when I did that transition.

Kathleen Smith 10:01 You’ve been at Starbucks for 10 years, and you’re very fortunate in the sense that your first job out of the military—you’re still there. Many of the people we’ve interviewed, and I know many of the Department of Labor statistics show that 80% of military personnel leave within the first year of their new job, mainly because of culture—they just don’t know how to ask about culture when they’re going through their interview process. What has kept you at Starbucks, and how can other service members in our audience find that same success and longevity in their next career? What were some of the things that Starbucks did, and some of the things you had to do to make sure you stayed there—other than the fact that you’d been following the company for a very long time and were very excited about them? Not everyone can do that.

Stephanie West 11:00 That’s true. Obviously the passion for what you’re doing is key, but you can do that anywhere—parts are parts no matter what type they are. I could easily choose another company, but I choose to stay with Starbucks for a lot of reasons. One, I have an amazing team of people that I work with, and if you were to interview all of them, they would sound a lot like me. They very much support the values and the culture of the company, even to the point where we’ve been called culture keepers of Starbucks because we love it so much. One of the big things I would say is that coming out of the military, a lot of times we have imposter syndrome, and we can’t make that transition because we don’t give ourselves the time to assimilate into the company. That can be really hard and scary, and it also takes a good company to have the patience to help with that. Military members have so much to offer, and sometimes we don’t think about that when we’re in the military—we just think we’re doing a job and then we go home. It’s the same in corporate culture, but you have so many different leadership skills, all the education you’ve completed, all these trainings. You bring value to the company. A lot of times people just don’t remember that. On the company side, Starbucks has a program called the Armed Forces Network. That’s really a place where all people from previous military service come together. We talk about things, we celebrate things—we observe Veterans Day and Memorial Day, we do things for the Month of the Military Child. A lot of the things we would do in the Navy, we do at Starbucks too. Having that little family inside of a big company is really helpful for veterans who are transitioning.

Kathleen Smith 13:28 I agree. Anytime I was at a TAP or ACAP presentation, I really talked about the buddy system—telling companies to invite their current veteran employees to partner up a buddy with incoming veterans. You have to provide some kind of network that replaces the network they had before—someone who’s always going to have your back, someone who’s going to explain corporate culture to you and that when you walk into the boardroom, you’re not going to be able to look at the insignia on the lapels or shoulders to decide who you salute. That’s really commendable that Starbucks has done that.

Let’s switch gears a little bit. I understand you’re a mom, you love kids and education, and maybe in another life you would have been a teacher. I love how we all think about what we would have done otherwise. Tell us about your volunteer work as a youth program coordinator for Compass USA. What inspired you to give back this way—in addition to a full-time job, being a mom, and now volunteering as well? How does that work, and what has it been like?

Stephanie West 14:53 My husband would tell you I’m a little bit crazy, but my philosophy is we have four kids, so what’s a few more? In all honesty, I’ve always done a lot of volunteerism with children. I became a mom pretty late in life because of the military—I waited and waited for the right time, which, let me tell you, there is no right time, especially if you’re a woman in the Navy. I originally started volunteering at orphanages in Italy. I did some Young Life volunteer time in the military as well, and I was a Camp Fire leader for eight years. Then I started working with Compass USA actually just by chance. I had a friend who was hosting a Japanese high school student. Our oldest daughter was a senior that year, and she asked if we could maybe be like an exchange sister to help her have a buddy when she went to high school here in America. We said yeah, definitely, that would be great. Well, it turned out she couldn’t host the Japanese student for the year because life happens. She asked if I knew anybody who could do it, and I said, “Well, let’s see if we can do it.” We went through the process, and before we knew it we had Shiho living here with us from Okinawa, Japan. It was the most amazing experience for our family. She was so perfect for our family, and we all just really grew to love her. We still love her; we’re still in contact with her. I just thought, what would have happened if she hadn’t landed with our family? What would her experience have been like? What would she take back to Japan with her if that experience didn’t go how she had hoped? So I started to get involved with the Compass USA program. It’s an exchange program. I find families who are willing to host a student, whether short-term or long-term. I do the interviews, find the placement, work with the families from the different host countries, and hopefully make their beginning experience amazing for them. That’s why I started—it’s all thanks to Shiho.

Kathleen Smith 17:51 So it sounds like you love to do my favorite thing, which is networking—and not everyone loves to network. It also seems to be the thing that is not taught in the military. Whenever I would present at transition panels, I was like, “Guys, you’ve got to learn how to network. Turn to the person next to you, exchange deets, let’s connect here.” People just looked at me like I had three heads—but that’s what people usually do when they look at me. Were there any key networking moments that shaped your journey in either the military or civilian world, and what are the first steps you would suggest to people coming out of the military that are nervous about starting their networking?

Stephanie West 18:42 I think for me, I’m just a talker. Everyone who’s at these events just sort of in their own bubble—I’ll randomly start talking to them, and before you know it we’re Facebook friends or LinkedIn or something. It can be as simple as that. It’s just as simple as a conversation; that’s really what networking is. Just having the courage to have that conversation—not everyone is able to do that. Remembering that your network can be as small as your family and your friends—they know people who know people who know people. I can’t tell you how many times I have relied on my network for things in this life. Even almost by chance, sometimes when you’re talking to somebody you don’t realize they’re the CEO of a company; you just think they’re enjoying the same music you’re enjoying at a venue. Kathleen, you said something and you were so right—the mission is the humans. We’re all here on this planet in this life together, and everybody has something to offer. Networking is just a way of connecting with that. I try to help as many people as I can. If they want a certain coffee to come back to Starbucks, I try to explain I do parts, not coffee flavors—but in all reality, if we have a position open or I think they’re a good fit, I’ll contact them. As a networker, you need to be the person to reach out, not always the person waiting to be reached out to. That’s where I’ve found success in networking. It’s really not scary—it’s just talking.

Kathleen Smith 20:47 I think the one thing, as we’re trying to impart some tips to our audience, is that it would be so easy to type it into AI and blast everyone. I can’t tell you over the 20-odd years I’ve been in the community how many of these cut-and-paste messages I’ve gotten on LinkedIn, how many just drop their resume with a blank generic message that says, “Can you find me a job?” That’s not networking, no matter who tells you it is. Please do not connect with someone and then immediately ask for a job or a resume review or something else. It’s a lot more subtle. Don’t just network because you need to find a job. Network because you want to really connect with key people and realize that networking takes time—it’s like a garden. You have to cultivate it; you have to wait through the seasons.

So let’s bring this all back. Talk about your transition and what advice you would pass on to someone who is preparing for theirs.

Stephanie West 22:07 I think one piece of advice I would give is to just be open-minded. Sometimes in the military we get so regimented and so routine that we take that with us when we transition, and we lose a lot of opportunities because we’re not open-minded. Sometimes it’s not going to look like what you think it’s going to look like. Maybe you’re a captain transitioning and you think you’re going straight to a CEO role at a company—if you do, that’s great and congratulations. But for the most part it’s not that simple. You really have to be flexible, willing to take something that might not look exactly like you thought it would, then take the time to learn it and move up or move out if you need to if it’s not a good fit. Don’t be afraid to stay and give it a try, but also don’t be afraid to move on to something else if it’s not what you thought it was going to be. Give it a chance. That would probably be one of my biggest pieces of advice.

Kathleen Smith 23:34 Well, Stephanie, this has been delightful. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I am so glad we finally got a chance to catch up and that you were able to be flexible with your schedule. Thank you for sharing your story—I really appreciate it.

Stephanie West 23:49 Thank you, Kathleen, for reaching out to me. I talked a little bit about that imposter syndrome—I was surprised somebody wanted to hear my story. I couldn’t believe it. So thank you for taking the time to reach out to me. I really appreciate that.

Kathleen Smith 24:09 Everyone’s got their own story, and I want to bring these stories to the community. Thank you.

It was really great talking to Stephanie today. Yes, I was stalking her on LinkedIn—I looked at her background, what she did in the Navy, and I just thought it’d be a really great example of how you can translate your military career in logistics and operations into a large-scale organization. I think one benefit for her is that she really enjoyed and had always wanted to work for Starbucks and studied them inside and out, especially through her MBA program. But I also liked that she shared that networking was so important. As previous guests and I have talked about, it’s one thing that is not shared in the military—you network within your ranks, but you don’t network across different branches or different levels. So understand you’re going to have to get comfortable being uncomfortable with networking, but it’s going to be the best part of your transition.

That is the end of our story today. Be sure to share this episode with your fellow service members. Hit subscribe for more stories we’ll be sharing with you in the future, and I hope you’ll join us again. Take care.