Making Connections

Old Dominion University’s LeADERS program connects students to courses and real world experiences in the areas of: Leadership, Academic Internship, Diversity, Entrepreneurship, Research, or Service Learning. This LeADERS ePortfolio shares how my experiences in the areas of Leadership, Academic Internship, and Entrepreneurship have supported my personal and professional development.

I joined the LeADERS program on its initial offering, largely because I realized that I already had obtained two areas that would place me just one class away from the bronze level.  I simply needed to change one of my electives to obtain the third area.  The largest challenge I faced was that my degree progression and number of classes remaining to complete my degree would make progressing beyond the bronze level in the program extremely difficult.  In the end this would prove to be the limiting factor in my LeADERS progression.  The class I chose to enroll in to obtain the Entrepreneurship area was ENMA 421 Decision Techniques in Engineering.  While it was a class I had not considered previously, it truly was a great experience.  The skills and techniques learned, such as the use of decision trees and risk profiles will serve me well in my career.  These skills compliment the Leadership area, in my case – ENMA 401 Project Management, very well.  All of these skills would be beneficial to a leader / project manager.

Upon graduating, I plan to continue my education at ODU by pursuing a Master’s Degree in Engineering Management.  I plan to use my education and 20 plus years of experience to advance my career in Manufacturing.  I am also currently completing a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification and plan to take the Project Management Professional, PMP Exam shortly afterwards.  My LeADERS experience will give me insight and advantages others may not have.  While completing my LSSBB project i have already put to use many of the skills gained in the program that employers desire.  For example, I have had to plan, organize and prioritize work, analyze data, and create reports.