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Rob Pick

Rob Pick
Place - Ankeny, Iowa
Johnsrud Transport
Scholarship Won: TCA Scholarship $2,000

The trucking industry has had a profound effect on my professional development.  Through my father’s involvement on the business side of trucking, I started to become interested in financial markets.  As the Vice President of Finance for Johnsrud Transport, my father has to keep a variety of financial factors in consideration.  For instance, the effect of oil and gas prices has on the trucking industry has large pass through effects to the broader economy as a whole.  Leon Johnsrud always said that if you got it, you got it from trucking.  This is important to note the tremendous economic implications that can be had on the entire nation due to changes in things which effect prices relevant to the trucking industry.  Further to fostering my interest in economics and financial markets, the founder and CEO of Johnsrud Transport has served as a guide to success for me.  Leon built Johnsrud from the ground up, starting the company with just one truck which he operated.  Johnsrud Transport now has a large fleet and is the principal carrier for large companies such as Anderson Erickson Dairy.  Leon has shown me that hard work and determination will pay off in the long run.  This is one of the reasons why I have been so aggressive with my college and high school career.  Through obtaining 50 college credits in high school and taking an extremely rigorous course load while at Iowa, I have been able to ensure graduation with three degrees in the period of four years.  I owe a lot of thanks to members of the trucking industry, especially my father and Leon Johnsrud, for steering me in the right direction.