{"id":7792,"date":"2020-04-23T16:26:48","date_gmt":"2020-04-23T16:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/?p=7792"},"modified":"2020-05-28T17:53:00","modified_gmt":"2020-05-28T17:53:00","slug":"making-the-most-of-her-spartan-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/resources\/student-spotlight\/making-the-most-of-her-spartan-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Making the Most of Her Spartan Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<script src=\"https:\/\/cdnapisec.kaltura.com\/p\/2353281\/sp\/235328100\/embedIframeJs\/uiconf_id\/41315042\/partner_id\/2353281\"><\/script>\n<div style=\"width: 100%;display: inline-block;position: relative;\"> \n\t<div id=\"dummy\" style=\"margin-top: 56.25%;\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"kaltura_player_1\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;left: 0;right: 0;bottom:0;border:solid thin black;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script>\nvar partnerId = 2353281,\n    uiconfId = 41315042,\n    entryId = '1_9lgoluz4';\nkWidget.embed({\n  \"targetId\": \"kaltura_player_1\",\n  \"wid\": \"_\"+partnerId,\n  \"uiconf_id\": uiconfId,\n  \"flashvars\": {},\n  \"cache_st\": 1590173330,\n  \"entry_id\": entryId\n});\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Your journey is your journey. At first glance, Monica Johnson\u2019s personal, educational and professional journeys may appear to follow \u201cnon-traditional\u201d paths. For Monica, that has only reinforced her belief \u201cthat regardless of the circumstances you may start with in life, you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adopted at an early age, Monica \u201cdidn\u2019t have that early childhood education that most people have, so I started a little bit behind the curve. My adopted mom made sure to instill in me the value of education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When it came time for college, \u201cI didn\u2019t have a traditional undergrad experience,\u201d she continues. \u201cI worked full time. I started out in a community college doing my gen ed classes, and then I transferred to a four-year college and did a lot of night school and online school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When she made the decision to continue her education and pursue her graduate degree, Monica \u201cdid a lot of research\u2026before picking my graduate degree program. And everywhere that I looked, MSU was always at the top of the list for programs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>MSU\u2019s hybrid <a href=\"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/programs\/degrees\/ms-supply-chain-management\/\">Master of Science in Supply Chain Management<\/a> checked all the boxes for Monica: a consistently <a href=\"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/resources\/supply-chain\/king-of-supply-chain-still-reigns\/\">top-ranked program<\/a>, the on-campus experience she craved and the online flexibility she needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt really fit in well with what I was looking for,\u201d she says. \u201cThe ability to go to the university and feel like you\u2019re part of the university, but also have it fit in with my very busy work schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Broad Knowledge-base, Deeper Understanding<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Monica\u2019s \u201cbusy work schedule\u201d as a strategic sourcing analyst with a government contractor means she wears many hats, working in \u201csupplier development, supplier relationships, long-term agreements with them and I help the tactical buyers in cost negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a role that requires \u201ca lot of problem-solving and mitigation and helping us achieve our company-wide goals\u2026attention to details, being able to collaborate, understanding the needs of my companies but also strengths and weaknesses of suppliers that may potentially be getting business from us,\u201d Monica explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou need to be able to multi-task, you need to be able to project plan, because not a lot of things are \u2018done\u2019\u2014they don\u2019t start on one day and end on another\u2014so you need to be able to keep track of your open action items, and a little bit of mentorship because the ultimate goal is for the buyers to manage their supplier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Monica has already applied new methods and tools from her courses that have proven to be \u201cvery, very helpful.\u201d The <a href=\"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/programs\/degrees\/ms-supply-chain-management\/curriculum\/\">strategic sourcing course<\/a> has provided \u201cnew ideas about how I can approach different suppliers,\u201d she says. \u201cWe worked on an excel spreadsheet that I was able to take back to my job and show them the best value analysis\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Demonstrating that \u201cvalue analysis\u201d has added weight for Monica, as she explains, \u201cIn the government world, we have to justify all our spending, and if it\u2019s not lowest cost, we have to justify was it because of lead time, was it because of better quality, and having data to back up those decisions\u2026 I was able to show that to my manager and we developed something that we could start using as a tool.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Being able to bring this kind of knowledge back to her organization is an important part of why Monica is pursuing her graduate education at MSU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is an investment in myself, but it\u2019s also an investment to my company,\u201d she says. \u201cThey\u2019re helping me make this investment, so I want to be able to bring the value back to my company and share the knowledge that I\u2019ve gained here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAll of the classes are broadening my knowledge-base of the supply chain,\u201d she continues. \u201cBecause supply chain just isn\u2019t procurement, which is the area of supply chain that I\u2019m at. Having a broad knowledge of all steps of the supply chain is going to help me better serve my company so that I have understanding of every step of the supply chain\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Connection, Camaraderie and Spartan Pride<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Along the program courses and curriculum, much of the \u201cbroadening of my knowledgebase\u201d has also come from sharing professional insights with her peers in the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBeing able to get together with my peers, discuss the classes, and we\u2019re all working professionals, so being able to discuss theory in supply chain and different things like that, it\u2019s really enriching,\u201d says Monica.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a \u201ccamaraderie\u201d that provides both new perspectives and needed support: \u201cWhen you\u2019re struggling on an assignment we message back and forth. After finals everybody says congratulations on making it through, or we message about going on vacation, so we\u2019ve cultivated a really close group and we keep in contact daily, so when we go up to MSU it\u2019s like we just pick up where we left off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Monica has discovered, it\u2019s shared Spartan Pride that brings everyone together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBeing a Spartan to me is about\u2026encouraging people, about family, and that\u2019s one of the things I felt immediately with my professors and with everybody that supports the program\u2014you immediately feel welcomed, you immediately understand Spartan Pride is a real thing,\u201d says Monica. \u201cIt\u2019s the culture at MSU, and you get pulled right into it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI never bought any college paraphernalia before,\u201d she says, thinking of her previous college experiences. But now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Monica wears Green, White and her Spartan heart on her sleeve. \u201cI have multiple Spartan shirts, I have a Spartan jacket now and I got a little decal for my car, so there\u2019s a huge sense of pride about being a Spartan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:32px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><em>Ready to be a part of SCM at MSU?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons aligncenter is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-background\" href=\"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/start-your-application\/\" style=\"background-color:#0db14b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Start Your Application<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your journey is your journey. At first glance, Monica Johnson\u2019s personal, educational and professional journeys may appear to follow \u201cnon-traditional\u201d paths. For Monica, that has only reinforced her belief \u201cthat regardless of the circumstances you may start with in life, you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it.\u201d Adopted at an early [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":7800,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[15,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-spotlight","category-supply-chain"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/1920x1080_1119_MSU_SCM_Monica.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8xwI-21G","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7792"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8029,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7792\/revisions\/8029"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bisk-preprod.go-vip.co\/msu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}