Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Category: Student Organizations

Student Chapter (Branch) of ASQ

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The American Society for Quality, an international organization promoting quality management and continuous improvement, has approved a Student Chapter (Branch) of the American Society for Quality at Michigan Tech.

We are the first chapter in Section 1014 representing northern lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. The founding membership has 17 student members. The major objectives of the chapter are to promote professional certification, foster a culture of lifelong learning and to connect students with chapters across the country as they transition from student life to their chosen careers.

We are especially thankful to Lisa (Gippert) Smith ’98 (ME) for her work in getting the chapter established. We are also thankful to Don Brecken and Nicole O’Reilly from American Society for Quality, Milwaukee. Three of the 17 members have completed the ASQ Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification. There are several more who will take the exam in May 2018.

The founding officers are

Stephen Butina, President

  • Management major with a concentration in Supply Chain and Operations Management
  • Hometown: Painesdale, MI

Tim Bart, Vice President

  • Engineering management major
  • Hometown: Brighton, MI

Kelby Chrivia, Treasurer

  • Engineering management major
  • Hometown: Hale, MI

Gabriela Mayorga, Secretary

  • Engineering management major
  • Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI

Dana M. Johnson (SBE) is the advisor for the organization. She is a Senior Member of ASQ.

In the Fall semester, the organization will actively begin recruitment of students. The organization is open to all students including undergraduate and graduate students. Any interested students should contact Stephen Butina or Dana Johnson.

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Accounting Club Visits Appleton

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On October 26 and 27, Kappa Sigma Iota (SKI accounting club) visited Appleton, Wisconsin to experience some diverse businesses in actions.

Their visits began in Iron Mountain at CCI Systems with a plant tour and a meeting with their Shared Service team (accounting, AR, AP, Payroll, Business Analysts, Technical Communication, Compliance, and Risk Management).

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Next, they set off Schenck CPA Firm where they met with staff from Tax, Audit, and Advisory services.  Here students were able to talk with the individual staff from each department.

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On Friday, students got a plant tour at Kohler and had the opportunity to meet with accounting staff before having lunch in the Kohler village. Last but certainly not least, KSI toured Lambeau Field where they took a tour of the Green Bay Packers’ stadium and business operations.

Before heading home, the club went to The Escape Room for a team building activity.

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KSI is already beginning to prepare for their Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) which will take place in February.  Through this initiative students in the accounting club assist community members and area students with completing tax returns.

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Meet Tim Spehar…

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Tim Spehar is a spring 2017 graduate of our engineering management major! He recalls visiting a series of universities during his junior year of high school. He and his Dad traveled around the state of Michigan before making it up to the U.P. to check out Michigan Tech’s School of Business and Economics.  During his visit, Tim found exactly what he was looking for: the opportunity to combine both business and technical skills into one program. When he left his campus visit, Tim knew he had chosen his college! He knew he would be coming to Michigan Tech to major in engineering management.

Tim’s four years on campus were packed with classes, involvement in student organizations, and playing outside. As he reflects on his experiences, he came up with some advice he would like to share with future students:

  1. Academics come first. College chemistry is a lot more difficult than high school. When arriving on campus Tim was used to being able to get good grades without putting in extensive study time. Even if you’re at the top of your high school class, you are going to need to devote more time to your studies in college.
  2. Get outside your comfort zone. In his first year of college Tim’s roommate was a guy he went to high school with. Although they came to school together, Tim said he was surprised at how quickly he branched out and met new friends. “It is important to get out and meet people during orientation week when everyone is trying to find their place on campus.” He advises getting to know your neighbors in the residence hall. When Tim moved off campus, he moved into a house with guys that lived near him in Wadsworth Hall.
  3. Pick up new hobbies. Tim played rugby and lacrosse in high school, but when he started at Michigan Tech he decided not to play on the club teams here. Instead, he got involved in starting a new student organization on campus! American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM). Tim worked closely with both Dr. Dana Johnson and Roger Woods and became the first president of the Michigan Tech chapter of ASEM. This organization is a student based chapter of a national organization that is centered around raising awareness of engineering management as a profession.
  4.  Attend every career fair. You just never know who you are going to meet. During the fall career fair of his senior year, Tim was waiting in a long line to talk to a recruiter from a company he was interested in.  While he was waiting in line he started reading information on a nearby table for a different company. He ended up going to their table and talking to a representative for Therma-Tron-X Inc. After talking a while he was offered an interview for the next morning.  It wasn’t long before Tim was invited down to their office in Wisconsin and ultimately was offered a job.

Tim has already started his position as Project Engineer at Therma-Tron-X Inc. and has been enjoying his first few weeks on the job. On behalf of the School of Business and Economics, we congratulate him and wish him the best on his future endeavors! If you’d like to get in touch with Tim please feel free to send him an Email at tmspehar@mtu.edu, or follow him on Instagram @the_cycling_engeineer

Tim commencement with parents

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