Mark Hart

I believe it is important to have a lifelong learning philosophy as a professional in any field that interests you.  As I considered my next professional development curriculum, I was introduced to the MSOM program at the University of Arkansas by my manager at a previous employer.  He was an alumnus of the program and recommended it as a more practical program over an MBA.  Given my past roles in program management and operations, I decided to pursue this program because it offered both a project management curriculum that aided in completing my Program Management Professional (PMP) certification as well as operations focused courses.

Nearly every course was challenging, practical and applicable to the aerospace industry that I have spent my entire professional career in.  Each course had a balance of individual contribution work coupled with group projects that challenged the team and in many cases were directly applicable to my profession.  Out of all the courses that were taken, I had the best experience with OMGT 5623 (Strategic Management).  The course was interesting, and the instructor was phenomenal because of his real-world experience and servant attitude that he brought to the curriculum.  This course, like many others, had a service-learning project where we worked with a local contractor to help him develop a strategic plan to grow his business.  Another course, that directly helped me in my current role, was OMGT 5403 (Environmental, Health and Safety Administration).  Our team project consisted of developing a Hurricane Preparedness Response program for my facility in Florida.

While there is no guarantee that any educational program will give you an immediate opportunity for advancement, there are many reasons why it is important to have a philosophy of lifelong learning.  First and foremost, I think making a commitment to complete this program should be about bettering yourself and learning a skill set that is vital to nearly every organization.  You may not desire to advance your career, however, this MSOM degree will set you apart from your peers when there is an opportunity for advancement if you choose to pursue it.  I would conclude with this; The sky is the limit when you are in a mindset of constantly improving yourself.  As iron sharpens iron, the MSOM program at the University of Arkansas will sharpen your skills and improve your professional aptitude.