Detour Becomes Destination for Engineering & Tech Management Grad

Written byHope Aucoin

ā€œYou have construction, you have chemical, you have electrical — you learn all of the different types of engineering in one major. That's what attracted me the most because it's not one-dimensional.ā€

Jonte Morrison
Graduation Year
2021
Major
M.S. in Engineering & Technology Management
Hometown
Lafayette, La.

The turbulence of 2020 and the time since has many of us still reeling, but for Jonte Morrison, there was a silver lining. 

Morrison earned his B.S. in Industrial Technology from the Āé¶¹Ņ¹ŹŠ in August 2020. Morrison says it wasn’t an ideal time to start job hunting, so he looked for other opportunities to advance his career. 

Just a few weeks after completing his bachelor’s, Morrison began the M.S. in Engineering & Technology Management online at Āé¶¹Ņ¹ŹŠ. 

Now, he’s graduating from Āé¶¹Ņ¹ŹŠ for the second time and says he’s glad his path shifted in this direction.

Growing up in Lafayette, Morrison was always a problem solver. Industrial technology provided the opportunity to channel that into a career.Jonte Morrison standing with his hands clasped wearing a red, Āé¶¹Ņ¹ŹŠ polo.

"It has a little of every type of engineering,ā€ he says. 

ā€œYou have construction, you have chemical, you have electrical — you learn all of the different types of engineering in one major. That's what attracted me the most because it's not one-dimensional.ā€

Although he didn’t immediately pursue a position in his degree field, Morrison began working full time upon earning his bachelor’s degree. Advancing into graduate school meant he needed a program that would allow him to balance his responsibilities while earning his degree. 

Because courses in the master’s in engineering technology program are 100% online, Morrison was able to strike that balance. 

ā€œIt actually worked out for the best because I could stay at my full-time job and get my coursework done,ā€ he says.

That isn’t to say it didn’t take some adjustment. Morrison hadn’t taken 100% online classes before his graduate coursework and had to quickly develop strategies for managing his time.

ā€œOf course, it was a challenge. Especially when I first started,ā€ he says. ā€œAs time went on, I learned to prioritize. School came first. I looked at my deadlines and tried to get them done a couple days before the due date to keep a good work-life balance.ā€

Morrison says every course in the online M.S. in Engineering & Technology Management program built on the knowledge he gained through his undergraduate degree, but he especially enjoyed delving into Lean manufacturing and lifecycle analysis concepts. 

"Lean manufacturing is basically telling us how to make a business run faster, using less energy and less money. That's very interesting,ā€ says Morrison. ā€œAnd with lifecycle analysis, that's basically taking the product and analyzing the steps to create it.ā€

With his master’s degree in hand, Morrison is embarking on his next chapter proud of the experience he’s accumulated. 

ā€œIndustrial and systems technology are great degree fields,ā€ he says. ā€œIt helps get your feet in the industry before you actually get in the field.ā€


Ready to advance your career? Learn more about the MS in Engineering and Technology Management online program at Āé¶¹Ņ¹ŹŠ.

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