Enrolling in grad school, especially online, is never an easy decision. But for University of Louisiana at Lafayette industrial technology graduate David Saucier, continuing his education through the M.S. in Systems Technology was an obvious next step.
“It touches on so many areas of a field I love, it was hard for me to pass up that opportunity,” says Saucier. “And it offers so many new opportunities in the engineering workforce when you're touching on subjects such as quality control, quality management, product design, and project management. Whenever employer looks at that, it really makes you stand out.”
Saucier, 22, had some anxiety going into the online program having had only one experience with online learning. 
“I was like, ‘this is going to be so difficult,’” Saucier says. “I was very surprised at how much the professors wanted you to succeed and wanted to push you to be better in the online program.”
Among those professors was Dr. Joe Jordan, who encouraged David to take a would-be side project into the forefront of his academic research.
Saucier was working as an intern at Bosco Machine Shop when he realized that the small company’s operations had exceeded its ability to track its stock of potentially valuable remnant materials.
“It's a small machine shop, and you can't control everything,” Saucier says. “Their focus for quality had always been with the machines and what the machinists were doing and what the machinists were outputting. So, as the material area grew and their material inventory grew, the only protocols in place were for receiving it and getting rid of it, but not storing it. I wanted to help.”
Saucier turned to Dr. Joe Jordan for guidance because of Jordan’s expertise in quality and operations management. Dr. Jordan encouraged Saucier to develop his idea into his capstone project.
Systems technology prepares students to improve processes and management of equipment, technology, and materials, Dr. Jordan says, whether that’s related to a single machine, a factory, or an entire industry.
Saucier’s proposal aligned perfectly with those goals.
“It’s more substantial than your typical project,” Dr. Jordan says. “He built a system for them to be able to quickly identify where a particular part is, not just with what’s on hand, but going forward being able to keep track of what they’re adding to it.”
Being able to identify and manage on-hand materials gives Bosco the ability to fill orders more quickly and efficiently, saving time and money.
“I saw just how big of an impact it could make on a small company, especially whenever every dime counts,” Saucier says.
Ensuring Bosco could continue managing the system was also important for Saucier.
“The main worry I had was if I leave the shop can they keep this going. It's very easy with a system like this that once the person that installed it moves on, nobody can keep up with it,” Saucier says. “I'm at a point right now where I don't have to manage the inventory to watch it keep going. I'm very happy with it.”
As Saucier prepares to graduate from UL Lafayette for a second time, he says he’s leaving with greater perseverance, time management, and an open mind.
“I understand now that sometimes you’ve got to attack the problem from a different direction, and think outside the box," Saucier says.
“It's a big world, and there’s so much you don't know, especially in the field of engineering where so many things are being discovered every day. You have to be open to different perspectives, especially going to these larger companies that are worldwide, because if you're not, you're going cause your company to fall behind.”