Next Gen Trucking Talk with Lindsey Trent
The Next Gen Trucking Association is a membership-based advocacy group solely dedicated to advancing the trucking industry as a career choice for the next generation through nationwide education and awareness initiatives. As a leading national nonprofit trade association, Next Gen Trucking Association (NGT) inspires, educates, and provides resources for young people and schools and promotes opportunities within the trucking industry. This podcast is all about steering the next generation towards careers in trucking. Who is doing it, how, and best practices. For more information contact Lindsey Trent at info@nextgentrucking.org.
Next Gen Trucking Talk with Lindsey Trent
Building Careers, Not Jobs: How High Schools Are Preparing the Next Generation for Logistics with Dr. Gina Smith
In this episode of NextGen Talks, Lindsey Trent sits down with Dr. Gina Smith, an educator leading a Supply Chain and Logistics program at Groves High School in Savannah, Georgia. Dr. Smith shares her personal journey from a 25-year career in the automobile industry to nearly a decade of teaching logistics.
She describes how she built the program into a pipeline for skilled careers by partnering with local industries, securing certifications for students (such as OSHA, forklift, TWIC, hazmat, and logistics technician), and ensuring hands-on exposure through field trips, simulators, and real-world experiences.
Dr. Smith emphasizes her passion for showing students that logistics offers careers—not just jobs—that can change their lives and communities. Many of her students have graduated with certifications, landed positions at companies like Georgia Ports, Gulfstream, and Colonial Group, and even purchased homes at age 19 or 20.
She also highlights the importance of adapting curriculum to industry trends, introducing students to AI and robotics, and keeping them engaged with experiential learning. Above all, Dr. Smith’s message is clear: invest in young people, love them, hold them accountable, and expose them to opportunities so they can thrive in trucking, logistics, and beyond.
Contact Dr. Gina Smith
gina.smith@sccpss.com
https://www.instagram.com/drgina.smith/
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The Next Generation in Trucking Association is a non-profit trade association who is engaging and training the next generation of trucking industry professionals by partnering with high schools, community/technical colleges and private schools to connect to and launch training programs around North America.
Visit our website: www.nextgentruckers.com
Contact us at: info@nextgentruckers.com
Follow us on socials here:
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https://www.youtube.com/@nextgenerationintrucking
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindseytrent/
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Visit our website: www.nextgentruckers.com
Contact us at: info@nextgentruckers.com
Follow us on socials here:
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