Supply Chain Management & Finance
Biography
My name is Evan Mainous. I am a Management major at the University of Tennessee and am part of the 2025 Heath Integrated Business and Engineering Cohort. While I do currently live in Tennessee, that is not where my story started.
I am originally from South Carolina, but moved to Texas when I was eleven or twelve years old. During that time, I was actively involved in Boy Scouts and eventually became an Eagle Scout during the ninth grade of high school (Dec 2017). I also took part in Tae Kwon Do and had achieved my 2nd Degree black belt my Sophomore year in high school. During my time in high school, I was involved in many different activities, including The Woodlands High School Marching Band, where I played Trumpet. During this time I was 1st chair in the Symphonic Band and I made the Texas Region band consecutively during the last two years of high school and participated in the Woodlands Symphony for a semester. Additionally, my brother and I opened up a landscape business titled Mainous Brother’s Landscape and Lawncare, which I eventually bought out from my brother my Junior year, and ran on my own. I employed two employees and opened an additional business, Mainous Small Engine Repair for repairing small engines, such as lawnmowers, generators, etc. After high school, I decided to attend the University of Tennessee, and have become very actively involved in many clubs and activities on and off-campus, and have worked several jobs since.
I say all of this to point out that my life has been centralized around hard work and perseverance, and when it comes to working hard, I do not believe in shying away. I believe in always striving to put my best foot forward, maintaining a strong work ethic, and being open to learning new things. Most importantly, I believe in setting high standards and ambitious goals for myself so that even if I fail, I am able to learn and become better both professionally and academically. Chael Sonnen, a MMA commentator, once stated that “when an individual faces success, they can either use that success as a springboard, or stay steady; be complacent and happy with their current station.” These words have been and continue to be integral to me, because I do not want to become complacent with my successes and forget to look to the future, and through them, I have been able to achieve much and have learned the importance of values such as adaptation, determination, and willingness to seek mentorship. My hope is that as a student of Heath IBEP at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, I will be able to use my successes and even my failures as a springboard in my future career.
When I first came to the University of Tennessee, the first organization I heard about was Heath IBEP, and I was immediately invested. I saw this getting into the program as not only a fantastic goal that I could set for my academic year, but also as an unique way to prepare myself for my future career. The things that most excited me about this program are the mentorship, teamwork and leadership opportunities. Having owned businesses, I know that there were many aspects which I overlooked at the time because of lack of knowledge about both management and engineering principles, and this program allows me to learn how best to apply both engineering and business principles from prestigious individuals in their respective fields and industries.
I am currently interested in working in a management field. I am interested in fields such as the energy industry and automotive industry due to my past experience in owning and operating businesses related to the automotive and petroleum/gas powered industries. However, I am very open to any and all opportunities that come my way and will apply the knowledge I have gained with an open mind and enthusiasm.
