Britney Blanchard earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology degree with a concentration in Energy Engineering from Southeastern Louisiana University. During her time at Southeastern, she was able to find an internship at Ford, Bacon and Davis. The company works with chemical plants throughout the area on specialized engineering and design projects and initiatives. She started out working in the Electrical and Instrumentation department doing drafting on AutoCad for jobs the engineers and designers drew. Upon graduation, she was offered a full time job with Ford, Bacon and Davis as an Electrical Designer.
“Although I started my college career at another university in Electrical Engineering, after my first year there, I learned about Southeastern’s Engineering Technology program. I visited the college and the department head spent two hours showing me the labs and talking with me about the program. The program was just was I needed! It was small, personal, and full of hands-on learning. The faculty knew what was important to the students, providing us with the information needed to reach our goals and succeed in the workforce after graduation! They were all willing to go out of their way and spend extra time with the students.
I have always wanted to work in the plants, and this job allows me to do that while still being able to work in an office, doing engineering and designing work. I love my job and would not be here if it wasn’t for Southeastern and its Engineering Technology program and faculty.”
Jesse Ardonne earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology with dual concentrations in Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Technology from Southeastern Louisiana University. He is currently attending Louisiana State University (LSU) in pursuit of a PhD in Electrical Engineering. His responsibilities include research under Dr. Peng in the Electrical Engineering department in the field of Computer Architecture.
“The Engineering Technology program at Southeastern put me exactly where I wanted to be at the end of my undergraduate career. I had two years of undergraduate research experience, internship experience, and the communication skills to reach out to employers. I had options that made any career path possible.
After graduating with a dual concentration in Computer ET and Mechanical ET, I was upholding an intern position at Oceaneering in Morgan City Louisiana where I continued through the beginning of August 2012. I immediately was able to transition to working on research on LSU campus under an Economic Development Assistantship. It was the wonderful faculty and staff who was able to connect me to the employers and faculty of other universities to give me this privilege.
I gained hands-on experience from a variety of project-oriented courses that enabled me to complete several interesting projects like giving a Wii remote full functionality on an Xbox 360. Southeastern offered a wonderful curriculum from a comfortable introduction to a thorough explanation into the more advanced topics preparing me for graduate school with productive labs accompanying the more relevant courses to industry. I thoroughly enjoyed all 183 credit hours at Southeastern and feel it has prepared me well for graduate school and all other future endeavors.”
Steven Larson earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology from Southeastern Louisiana University. He was president of the NAIT Student Chapter and a student government member. Steven owned and operated a small business in college performing facilities maintenance for commercial and residential clients. Upon graduation, he landed a job at Pala Industries as a Planner. Shortly thereafter, Steven joined The Boeing Company as Facilities Industrial Engineer and moved in to several other titles including Facilities Project Manager, Facilities Analyst, and Facilities Manager.
“The Computer Science & Industrial Technology Department at Southeastern helped me in many ways prepare for my position as a facilities manager. I felt and still feel that the Industrial Technology program taught me valuable manufacturing techniques that could be applied at businesses manufacturing anything from plastic water bottles to rocket ships. I was very confident that my education paired with my past experience as a blue collar worker I would find a great job somewhere in the US.
One of the unique courses I took was a summer course in which we toured various factories in the area. I met valuable contacts and learned what really went on behind the scenes on each tour. As the president of NAIT’s Student Chapter at Southeastern, I tried to help the members understand that networking was the most important part of being a NAIT member. Not only could we possibly help each other find jobs one day, but getting out and touring may help us find that first job out of college.
Many other valuable courses included how to read and draw prints, and one of my favorites was materials and processes. Boeing is focusing on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), so the Southeastern Industrial and Engineering Technology Department falls directly in line with our current and future needs.”
Jimmy Miller earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology with a concentration in Supervision from Southeastern Louisiana University. Upon graduation, he spent several years in Baton Rouge, working with industrial instrumentation and automation distributors or manufacturers – mostly with Siemens and ABB. Jimmy recently took a position with Emerson Process Management as the Global Business Development Manager for their Process Safety System Platform – the piece in a plant that prevents any type of catastrophes, explosions, etc.
“I have had a very successful career since Southeastern. I think my military background, education by a great staff at Southeastern, lots of hands on experience while I was still in school, and a good bit of luck all contributed to that success! My interests swung from Loss Prevention to construction management. I worked for an industrial electrical and instrumentation contractor during college and after graduation. I had the opportunity to take a position as an automation (Mostly PLC) technical support guy and I was hooked! Everything just progressed from there. I went from tech support, to field services, startup specialist, product specialist, and ultimately into a sales role. After all of that soul searching, I realized that sales is where I belong. One thing I quickly realized was: (1) There are very few sales people that are good at what they do; (2) Having a hands-on background is invaluable in the way you approach the sales process and actually gives value to the customers you sell to; and (3) I REALLY like talking to people and sharing what I know to help solve their problems! The Industrial Technology curriculum offers lots of hands-on experience and real world applications that a majority of college grads never see.”
Jeremy Larson earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology with dual concentrations in Supervision and Automated Systems from Southeastern Louisiana University. He is currently an Integrated Scheduler for The Boeing Company and in the past has held several titles (Master Scheduler, Scheduler, Maximo Representative and Cost Control) for KBR (Kellogg Brown and Root) for numerous clients, including: Shell, BP, Motiva, DuPont, and Texas Instruments.
“I enjoyed the time I spent in the Industrial Technology program and in particular the small classes and personalized attention that was given. The professors and mentors were very understanding and helpful on guiding us to a productive future. I would like to take this opportunity to especially thank Professor Anthony Blakeney. I was an officer in two of the on-campus organizations (NAIT and AWS); both of these help me with my Networking and Social skills.
Some of the most helpful classes for my career include: Auto CADD, Production Planning, Material and Processes and the Computer Science Excel/Access. All of these courses use the same information that I use daily for my job as a Scheduler.”
Tram Danh earned a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Safety, Health & Environment from Southeastern Louisiana University. She is currently working for Boasso America (a tanks transportation company) in Chalmette, Louisiana as a Compliance Safety Coordinator. Her responsibilities extend past Safety issues to include worker’s compensation, OSHE 300 logs, chemical waste, and working with the DOT.
“I really enjoyed those semesters being an OSHE student. Some of my favorite courses included Ergonomics, Accident Investigation, and Environment Science. Our professors/instructors are very helpful when we need them.”
The Occupational Safety, Health & Environment program not only taught us safety, but much more in life. With more safety professionals, there will be less accidents/injuries on the job. Our mission is to make sure everyone goes to work and comes home safe regardless of what their occupation is. Southeastern is the only school that offers a 4-year program in OSHE that prepares graduates for a wide variety of careers. I am a Safety Compliance Coordinator, my classmates may be moving toward Loss Prevention, working for EPA, working for DOT, or even OSHA.”
Dr. Mihir Fnu earned a Masters degree in Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT – Computer Science focus) and a Doctor of Education degree from Southeastern Louisiana University. He is currently the Director of National Research and Policy for the Association for Institutional Research which is based in Tallahassee, Florida. Prior to this position, Dr. Fnu was the Director of Institutional Research at Norwalk Community College and also held a position in the Office of Institutional Research at Nicholls State University.
“My transition of being an international student to becoming a researcher developing methodological analysis on national datasets and advocating best policies began at Southeastern. I saw Southeastern fostering educational motives and advantageously creating sustainable academic paths. Particularly, the ISAT and ED.D programs I pursued strategically tied program objectives and learning outcomes to capitalize the potential educational capacities of individual students, thoroughly and purposefully. Southeastern provided hands-on training, mentoring as well as opportunities to collaborate. I distinctly remember my conversations with my friends and mentors, stirring the ideas, posing questions, and solving problems. The experience, as it should be, was very educational.
Worth mentioning are the conversations on educational values and the implications for equity, access, and affordability of education. Being a Computer Science major in the Masters program didn’t stop me from understanding and participating in discussions on transformational and global pedagogies, multicultural education issues, academic achievement and the ways those relationships contribute to critical evaluation of the interplay and outcomes within educational paradigms. Such rich conversations helped me to develop new conceptual frameworks through which impartial educational achievements are acknowledged across all students groups. I personally thank my mentors in the ISAT program and in the College of Education. I am confident that the university continues to serve, educate and empower students building an educated and sustainable workforce.”
