Growing up on his family’s 330-acre cattle farm in Fyffe, Alabama, Harbert senior Luke Martin learned the value of hard work while tending to the cattle, baling hay, and building fences. This work ethic has served him well at Auburn, where he is double majoring in supply chain management and finance, cheering with the Auburn Tigers Cheer team, and working at Chick-Fil-A.

“[The cattle farm] instilled a hard work ethic in me and my two brothers,” said Martin. “I learned you have to do some things that you don’t really want to do. That has helped me get through the mental aspect of college, and it has helped me pay my way through college.”

Martin’s upbringing also placed a premium on teamwork, which he has effectively used to navigate his course work and two corporate internships—both of which enabled him to use his supply chain management and finance knowledge.

In the summer of 2021, Martin worked for multinational transportation and logistics provider Scottlynn in Ft. Myers, Florida, which specializes in hauling time-sensitive refrigerated produce from the American southwest and Mexico to distribution centers and grocers across the United States.

“We coordinated people who needed freight moved but didn’t have trucks with people who did have trucks and could move the [products],” said Martin, who regularly interacted with truck drivers, dispatchers, customers and fellow Scottlyn team members to ensure on-time delivery.

According to Martin, he occasionally dealt with some difficult situations such as talking to truck drivers who maybe weren’t super excited to talk with an intern, but being a part of a close-knit team alleviated any stress.

In the fall of 2021, Martin was a customer-care services intern with transportation management software firm McLeod Software in Birmingham, where he worked with the company’s integrations team deploying software to customers.

Perhaps one of the most fulfilling team-based activities for Martin, though, is being a member of the Auburn Tigers cheerleading squad.

“I love it,” he said. “It’s very rewarding, especially the friendships I’ve made and the contributions we make to Auburn [University] and the community.”

In the fall, Martin and his teammates cheered at all 12 Auburn football games, dedicating about 20 hours each week to practice and gameday. In addition, the cheer team makes appearances at nursing homes, after-school programs, and special events like a rally for Special Olympics’ athletes.

“We don’t all go to all the events, but I went to [several] elementary schools, where we do a meet and greet, call a few cheers, throw a stunt or two to get the kids excited and then do a Q + A with them,” said Martin, whose twin brother Daniel is also among the 21 Auburn Tiger cheer squad.

This semester, he cheers at some of the Auburn men and women basketball games, gymnastics meets, and women’s softball and men’s baseball games.

When he’s not in class, on the sidelines or out in the local community, Martin works part-time at Chick-fil-A primarily taking drive-thru orders.

After he graduates in May, Martin plans to attend graduate school to earn an MBA before launching his business career.

“I’m looking for a job that is people oriented, but involves data analytics, crunching numbers and making large data meaningful,” Martin said. “A dual degree opens up career opportunities and I hope I can learn even more about what is possible in the MBA program.”