Tim Bart is a third year engineering management student from Brighton, Michigan. Growing up within driving distance of two large state schools, he knew that the big campus life would not be the right fit for him. On his search to find a smaller school in a unique location, Tim stumbled upon Michigan Tech.
After coming up for a campus visit, he knew he wanted to graduate with a B.S. in engineering management from the School of Business and Economics at Michigan Tech. To reach his goal, he spent two years at a community college before transferring. He was very strategic about the classes he chose to take at Schoolcraft College (in order to get the most out of his credits). When Tim transferred in the fall of 2015, he brought 35 of his 43 credits with him. Not knowing anyone in Houghton, Tim signed a lease blind and met his roommates when he arrived for classes. Although initially nervous to live with four strangers, it proved to work out very well! Everyone in the house became friends, and a year later he is still sharing an apartment with two of those students.
During his first career fair on campus, Tim talked to Greenheck Fan Corporation (the leading suppliers of air movement and control equipment) from Schofield, Wisconsin. They were looking for engineering management students for a spring/summer semester co-op. Tim knew he wanted to stay on campus for a full year before taking on work experience. Five months later at the spring career fair, Tim talked with Greenheck Fan again and they offered him a summer/fall co-op. He moved to Wisconsin and worked as a Manufacturing Engineer Co-op from May 2016 – December 2016. While on co-op Tim worked day-to-day with a materials specialist to control the flow of inventory, get production information to assembly lines, and monitor purchase orders. He led larger projects where he diagnosed problems with efficiencies, improved process flows, assessed the feasibility of large future projects, and assisted other team members with their initiatives. One of his larger projects was looking at the possibility of implementing robots called AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) in the facility. These robots would be used to move goods and materials from one location to another.
All students enrolled in a co-op at Michigan Tech are in an online course where they write about their experiences and engage in conversations about the type of work they are doing, workplace culture, and other aspects of their job and the company they are working for. Like many students on co-op, Tim had the same responsibilities as the full-time employees and was happy to find autonomy in his work.
When he is not in class or hitting the slopes/trails, Tim can be found in the Academic Office Building connecting with students who are interested in joining the School of Business and Economics. He remembers how helpful it was for him to ask questions and hear stories from current students about their experiences on campus and is happy to be that connection to potential new students. Tim invites you to check him out on the web at zeemee.com/timbart or to send him an email at tabart@mtu.edu to start a conversation!
CCI Systems, a networks solution company headquartered in Iron Mountain, Michigan, has donated 50 pieces of computer and networking equipment to the School of Business and Economics at Michigan Tech.
The donation will support the new Information Systems Student Lab of the Management Information Systems (MIS) program, created to give Michigan Tech students an opportunity to experiment with industry hardware and software in a free-form environment.
The MIS faculty reached out to industry partners from their advisory board, asking for gently-used, commercial-grade equipment for networking and computing. CCI Systems, one of the advisory board’s industry partners, put together a large donation that exceeded the MIS program’s expectations.
“The MIS students at Michigan Tech will benefit substantially from this opportunity to learn about networking and cyber security technologies through hands-on experimentation in a safe lab environment,” said Jeffrey Wall, assistant professor of management information systems at Michigan Tech. “The lab will provide them with further opportunities to experiment and interact with different operating systems and programs. The School of Business and Economics and the Management Information Systems faculty greatly appreciate CCI Systems’ generous donation of lab equipment.”
MIS advisory board member Evan Rice, director of information and analysis services at CCI Systems, said, “CCI believes in what the MIS program is trying to achieve. The future of our business depends on new, highly capable, technical professionals entering the job market. We find that Michigan Tech is uniquely positioned, both technologically and geographically, to provide those future employees. So for us, giving back to these programs is a no-brainer.”
-Jenn Donovan – Tech Today, March 21, 2017
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ8Nbu6uhdE[/youtube]
Do you want to take care of a few degree requirements over the Summer? Registration for Summer Classes is now! Taking a couple classes in the Summer is great option to help you continue to fulfill your degree requirements.
Going somewhere this Summer? Explore options for courses to take online, many are the core course requirements for the Business Degrees. Summer 2017 we are offering some online courses for convenience to our students.
- EC 2001: Principles of Economics (Track A)
- EC 3100: International Economics (Track A)
- FIN 3000: Principles of Finance (Track B)
- MGT 4600: Management of Technology and Innovation (Track A)
- MIS 2000: IS/IT Management (Track B)
- MKT 3000: Principles of Marketing (Track A)
- OSM 3000: Operations and Supply Chain Management (Track B)
- OSM 3200: Project Management (Track A) *currently full for Fall
If in the area this Summer explore these options to take on-campus:
- BUS 2200: Business Law (Track A)
- EC 4050: Game Theory/Strategic Behavior (Track B)
You can go here for information on what courses are offered for the Summer.
Information about the cost of courses in the summer can be found here. Summer tuition is based on per credit enrollment (no plateau tuition).
Erin is a second-year accounting student from Traverse City, Michigan. During her search for the perfect university, she recalls looking for school with a prestigious academic atmosphere in a location that would allow her to continue to enjoy the outdoors. In the fall of her senior year, Erin was invited to participate in the School of Business and Economics’ Impact Scholarship Competition. At the competition, Erin and her family had the opportunity to meet several faculty members.
This fall, two years after participating in the scholarship competition, the same professors that Erin met during Impact, she now had as instructors in class. They remembered having met Erin and her parents at the competition and were excited to have her in class. Erin says this is just one example of our faculty truly caring about their students.
All through high school Erin was an avid runner and skier, but was not sure if she would continue to compete at the collegiate level. During her first year at Tech, she was a walk on for both the Nordic and running teams. Needless to say, she never looked back. Erin has continued as a three season athlete. That means she runs on the cross country team in the fall, skis on the Nordic team in the winter, and runs track in the spring. “Being an athlete really has taught me time management. I need to go to sleep early so I can wake up and be productive in classes and at practice.” Traveling many of the weekends throughout the year requires her to stick to a strict study schedule so she is able to make the most out of every day. One of her favorite parts about competing on the home trails is seeing her professors in the crowd. “It is much different for someone to show up to a ski race and stand around in the snow than it is to come to an indoor sporting event and sit comfortably in the stands.” Erin says she can’t imagine what she would do with all her time if she wasn’t involved in athletics.
While being a student athlete does take up on average 15 hour a week (plus travel), Erin has also made time to get involved in an academic organization, Kappa Sigma Iota (KSI). KSI is a student organization dedicated to helping students gain an understanding of the business world through networking, guest speakers, and CPA/industry tours. In her first year at Michigan Tech, Erin went on a trip to Minneapolis with KSI. They visited a few companies and firms including Caterpillar, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and Grant Thornton. After their tours, she sent a follow up Email to Grant Thornton thanking them for the experience, and mentioned she was interested in exploring a career with a CPA firm. The representative from Grant Thornton got back in touch with Erin and invited her to participate in a four day recruiting conference known as Grow with Grant Thornton. In July, she headed to Chicago with other college students where they were exposed to Grant Thornton’s services lines such as audit, tax and advisory. Shortly after the program ended, Erin was offered an internship for the following summer. Erin is excited to spend this summer in Minneapolis where she will work as a tax intern.
While Erin is only half way through her second year, she knows she will pursue the Accelerated Accounting (MS) Michigan Tech and take the CPA exam. We are excited to see what the coming years have in store for her!
If you’d like to learn more about Erin, or get in touch with her check her out on ZeeMee!