I Am Never Too Kool for Skool!

The perpetual student is at it again!

Frequent readers of Grant's Pad and close friends know that I have amassed an uncommonly large number of academic degrees and accomplishments over the years (a large number of them at the University of Florida - Go Gators!). Totally at the risk of sounding "ivory tower elitist", the pile of certifications is summarized below:

• B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
• Certificate of Completion, Intensive Language and Culture Program, Shaanxi Normal University in Xi'an, China
• Minor, East Asian Languages and Literatures, University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
• M.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
• M.S., Industrial Engineering, University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
• Certificate of Completion, Private Pilot Ground School, Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida
• Master of Business Administration, University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida

Grantis Mantis (see the wings?) and the Ivory Tower

A few weeks ago, I learned that I was selected to participate in the Certified Systems Engineering program at my company. The program amounts to about 40% of a Master's degree and is administered by the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. I'd never heard of it previously, but from what I've researched, the Stevens Institute is something of a front runner when it comes to Systems Engineering as an academic discipline - it turns out most other schools, including FIT and UF and even MIT, do not have a dedicated Systems Engineering department but instead include it as a part of the Industrial Engineering department.

So, I am going back to school yet once more. After completing the program, I will actually have an option to complete the M.S. in Systems Engineering if I think that's something I want to do. I think Systems Engineering has been a great fit for me since I transitioned into my current role at work, so that is definitely an option I will consider.

In the meantime, my co-worker and fellow classmate, Jeff, are the first two candidates from our company's Melbourne location to participate in the program. The classes are held at our headquarters in Cedar Rapids and delivered by the actual faculty from the Stevens Institute, so a few weeks back we got to make our first trip for classes. It was Jeff's first trip back to Cedar Rapids since 1998 (his first full time job out of school was in Cedar Rapids back in the late 80s!). So, prior to classes, we took a little nostalgic ride around town and even got a photos of the street he lived on:

Fall leaves in Cedar Rapids - I always say that this is the America you see on TV

The week was a good one. The classes were well paced and I can honestly say that I came away with some value - notably, it was good to put some academic structure around some of the things that I do every day at work! But most notably, the trip reminded me of how much good ol' American eating takes place in the Midwest. I literally surpassed my metabolic capability by day 3, when I could not for the life of me finish my modest 12 oz rib eye steak at Winifred's. Having gorged myself at Biaggi's on Day 1 and at Granite City on Day 2 really reduced how much more I could eat on Day 3, which is a shame because the steak was incredible.

Another memorable side-story about Day 3 - Jeff and I arranged to have dinner with John, our former program manager whom we had not spoken since he changed jobs. I could only imagine the surprise he must have felt when representatives from our Chinese customer and our Shanghai walked in the door of the very restaurant where we were eating! He must have felt either a major sense of Deja Vu... or maybe an ambush... In any case, we had a nice dinner and a great time catching up afterwards with old friends!

We'll be going back to Iowa in December for Round 2 of our classes - just in time for the best winter weather the Midwest has to offer!