Opportunity Knocks

The Opportunity Knocks program is Expeditors’ internal umbrella program for all of our work with youth internships and organizations. It was founded by Dan Wall, an executive at Expeditors. This program has a rich history rooted in our culture of “hire for attitude, train for skill” and promotion from within.

Dan Wall, President of Global Products, was an average student in high school. In his words, "you can’t get any more average than I was." Dan didn't have the finances or interest to attend college. His post-high school graduation plan was to follow in his father's footsteps and become a truck driver. Being too young to become a truck driver, Dan pursued a position at Expeditors. Tim Barber, current Executive Vice President of Europe, was willing to give him an opportunity as a runner at Expeditors.

Shortly thereafter, Dan was promoted to an office position. His first months in this role exemplified the culture of the company, which still shines through to this day. The VP of Information Services at the time and others mentored Dan, teaching him the basics of the industry and of business etiquette. With a strong culture of promoting from within, Dan rose in leadership through hard work. Eventually, he had the opportunity to get his college degree from Seattle U, as advocated by Tim Barber and former CEO Peter Rose. Dan’s capstone project for his degree eventually turned into Opportunity Knocks, which is modeled after his own experience starting at Expeditors in 1987.

While Opportunity Knocks has worked with over 20 non-profit organizations and schools since 2008 to receive interns, an important part of the program’s history and growth is through partnership with the Cristo Rey Network of Schools. The partnership was started by Phil Coughlin, Chief Strategy Officer at Expeditors. Having begun in Boston, Expeditors now partners with Cristo Rey in 16 cities across the US. Through this partnership, high school students gain entry level skills, professional experience and financial support for a college preparatory education.

Opportunity Knocks enjoys excellent executive support and is championed by another Opportunity Knocks story. Jose Ubeda's story is another example of the principles of Opportunity Knocks. Jose is the Senior Vice President of Global Air and the Executive Champion of Opportunity Knocks. He started at Expeditors in San Francisco at seventeen years old, along with Jeff Musser, who was sixteen years old and now the CEO and another Opportunity Knocks story. "I was given what turned out to be a profound opportunity as a young man and that is what we're offering through our program." says Jose, "It is engaging to be a part of the success of young people and it's smart on the business side as well. Logistics work is requiring an increase in technical skills and critical thinking. I proactive approach to a skilled talent pipeline is a clear win."

Lenora Turner, Director of Opportunity Knocks, has a background in training, personnel development and non-profit work. She has supported the program from the start. Turner now directs the program and scaling efforts, however, every local office involved finds its own key players and is critical to local program success. Since 2008 we have provided 448 paid internship or work-study placements in 40 districts in six countries.

Opportunity Knocks is a program that will give motivated young people a shot with a Fortune 500 company. At Expeditors, we know that there are hard-working individuals that would jump at the opportunity to work in a professional environment - they just need to be given the chance.