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 杏吧专区 in August 2020. Morrison says it wasn杏吧专区檛 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杏吧专区檚, Morrison began the M.S. in Systems Technology online at UL Lafayette.
Now, he杏吧专区檚 graduating from UL Lafayette for the second time and says he杏吧专区檚 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.
"It has a little of every type of engineering,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淵ou have construction, you have chemical, you have electrical 杏吧专区 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.杏吧专区
Although he didn杏吧专区檛 immediately pursue a position in his degree field, Morrison began working full time upon earning his bachelor杏吧专区檚 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杏吧专区檚 in systems technology program are 100% online, Morrison was able to strike that balance.
杏吧专区淚t actually worked out for the best because I could work my full-time job and get my coursework done,杏吧专区 he says.
That isn杏吧专区檛 to say it didn杏吧专区檛 take some adjustment. Morrison hadn杏吧专区檛 taken 100% online classes before his graduate coursework and had to quickly develop strategies for managing his time.
杏吧专区淥f course, it was a challenge, especially when I first started,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淎s time went on, I learned to prioritize. Of course, school came first. I looked at the deadlines for assignments and tried to get them done a couple days before the due date to keep a good work-life balance.杏吧专区
Morrison says every course in the online M.S. in Systems Technology 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, so I think that's very interesting,杏吧专区 says Morrison. 杏吧专区淎nd with lifecycle analysis, that's basically taking the product and seeing the steps that he could do to get created. I've also found it very interesting.杏吧专区
With his master杏吧专区檚 degree in hand, Morrison is embarking on his next chapter proud of the experience he杏吧专区檚 accumulated.
杏吧专区淚ndustrial and systems technology are great degree fields,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淚t helps you get your feet in the industry before you actually get in the field.杏吧专区