Meet Your Mentors: Alumni Empower Students to Unlock Their True Potential
Three Georgia Tech alumni share their thoughts on how they help guide current Professional Master’s in Applied Systems Engineering students
Pursuing professional goals while balancing life and work can be quite challenging. However, having a supportive network facilitates the experience and provides the motivation needed to achieve your objectives. A mentor is an essential member of that support system; they draw from their own experiences to help mentees navigate academic challenges more effectively, broaden their knowledge, and establish professional connections.
We spoke with three Professional Master's in Applied Systems Engineering (PMASE) graduates: Christopher Phillips, Brian Drilling, and Sabrena Yedo. They shared their thoughts on the importance of fostering a sense of community while completing the program, how they apply the skills they acquired to their careers, and the ways they collaborate with current students.
Here are some highlights from the conversation:
Looking back, what did you find most surprising or unexpected about your experience in this program?
Christopher Phillips, Systems Engineering Director at Northrop Grumman: As a PMASE graduate, I found it very beneficial to walk through this entire program alongside a group of fellow students. This created a compounding effect on what we learned. We were able to carry lessons forward, ask each other questions, and ultimately build a holistic, almost systemic view of systems engineering. I, personally, think this is pretty unique in the space.
Brian Drilling, Director of Operations Equipment for US & Canada at Firehouse Subs: The cohort model was the main reason why I picked Georgia Tech. The small interactions that you have with everyone and the fact that you are together throughout the whole program were deciding factors for me. I was able to network successfully, which was a big goal for me. As part of the PMASE program, my objective was to earn a master’s degree as well as to build professional connections and friendships that I could continue after completing the program.
Sabrena Yedo, Strategic Architect Engineer at NASA: The network that I developed and meeting new individuals that were outside of where I currently work were the most surprising aspects of this program. We still text every August to say, “Happy graduation day!”
As a mentor, how do you collaborate with students?
Christopher Phillips: There are regular office hours, there's working through discussions, and there are one-on-one conversations either on-site or through online meetings. We are working professionals who respond to student assignments the way we would respond to things that get turned in at work. So, for us, it’s important to be available in the evenings when our students can focus on schoolwork and we're able to engage with them because we're free from our day jobs.
Brian Drilling: The 6006 robot class is the turning point of the PMASE program. We felt like having a more hands-off approach would prepare students for their capstone project. During capstone, students have to drive their own interactions. That's how we wanted to set up this class, where we're here to help. We’ll engage in the first week or two, and then we’ll let them drive the engagement. I feel like that approach has been helpful and well-received.
Sabrena Yedo: Building a strong community is very important to me. This is achieved through one-on-one time with the students, through office hours, and responding to emails. That’s really important to me because that's how you build up that community: you make yourself available to the students.
Were you able to apply the model-based systems engineering methodologies and tools in your current role?
Christopher Phillips: For someone who has worked in both document-centric and model-based systems engineering, I've seen incredible value in the technology that model-based systems engineering brings. It connects the digital thread, leading us toward what's often called digital twinning to the level that we can start to very quickly see impacts. We can start to see how those impacts can have long-reaching effects on how a system operates, how it performs, and even how much it costs and what it takes to keep it running down the line.
Brian Drilling: I was able to apply a lot of the tools we learned and immediately implement several methods, including the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). It's a great way to rank subjective criteria, and I got a lot of people on board at my company to do that, which was a huge win because we were at a critical decision point. We needed to analyze entire architectures and we needed whole systems comparisons. TOPSIS allowed us to do that.
Sabrena Yedo: I currently utilize model-based systems engineering and engage with Systems Modeling Language (SysML). Of course, model-based systems engineering is beyond just SysML. It's also about running simulations, even walking the walk, and talking the talk with a group of people.
Watch this video to learn more about what motivates these PMASE graduates to support current learners.
Interested in elevating your career without interrupting your life? Consider Georgia Tech’s Professional Master’s in Applied Systems Engineering online program.
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