Meet the Graduates

Neal Smith is the Human Resource director at the Dakota Supply group. DSG is a wholesale distributor of electrical and mechanical products. Smith said that his company likes to hire MSUM Operations Management 2+2 program’s graduates as interns or employees because they have all that it takes to be in DSG. “The graduates have business background, exposure to sales and industrial technology; and they are well educated about new technologies,” said Smith.

“It’s never too late to go back to school,” said Larry Hartz, 34. According to him, this program is the pathway to become more effective leader in the field. Operations Management classes are offered in the evenings, targeted mainly to the working professionals. “One day a week classes are working great for me as all the assignments can be done in the weekends,” said Hartz. Hartz compared 4 years’ program offered at North Dakota State University (NDSU) to MSUM and said you can get the same degree in 2 years. He said Operations Management 2+2 program at MSUM was a good fit for him because all his previous credits were accepted and online classes helped a lot.

An industrial engineer at Bobcat, Casey Strand is fascinated by the flexibility of Operations Management (OM) 2+2 program. He said that the classes work around his schedule as they are offered in the evenings and online. “I chose OM because I had the end in mind and it fits my needs,” said Strand. He also said that having this kind of technical and a leadership/management degree is important because you know more about dealing with vendors and about the technical side of the components. Strand was offered a post of industrial engineer by Bobcat in Fargo, ND. He thinks he would not be able to get this job without the education and experience he had with MSUM Operations Management 2+2 program.

2+2 gave me more experience from a management standpoint and improved my written and oral communication skills. I became more of a creative thinker. I'd recommend it to any technical school graduates who want more career opportunities.

I needed additional skills in order to move up in the industry. It would have taken a long time to move forward without a bachelor's degree. My education at MSUM helped round out my abilities and enabled me to communicate on a broader scale.

After six years with an A.A.S. in Electronics I found that in order to advance in my field I needed to pursue a B.S. degree and the 2+2 program was the perfect answer. It's given me a broader understanding of the business aspect of the industry and I learned more about working with people. Everyone at MSUM has been so helpful and friendly. I'd recommend 2+2 to anybody who wants to get more out of their career.

I was attracted to the 2+2 program because it accepted all my technical college credits . . . most of them wouldn't have counted toward graduation requirements at other colleges I was looking at. I was able to finish with a double major in two years and I had a job lined up before I graduated.