Moments That Last a Lifetime
Many undergraduate ISyE students enroll in the Integrated Degree Program (IDP). This 5-year program gives students the opportunity to obtain their Bachelor’s in ISyE, as well as their Masters of Science in Data Science in Operations Research (DSOR) (formally the MS in ISyE, Analytics track).
Jessica Thorne is one such student. Graduating in December 2024, Thorne now works as an Analyst for Accenture, a global business and technology consulting firm. As an Analyst, Thorne works in a variety of capacities. One of these is project management where she prepares and facilitates meetings with her clients. She also works within the Enterprise Resource Program (ERP), and most recently has been involved with testing security and integration points within the system.
Her work with Accenture began as an internship during the Junior year of her undergraduate studies. This internship opportunity continued through 3 of the 5 years of her time in ISyE.
“With each internship I did with Accenture I was on a different client account. The first internship allowed me to work with and learn more about coding and server infrastructure. The second, which was with a food manufacturer, focused more on process and industrial engineering. The last internship applied much more of the project management piece and Enterprise Resource Program implementation, which is most related to what I work on now.”
Beyond the value of her internships, the ISyE programs provided many enlightening moments that led her to settle into the Analyst position; however, those moments did not seem clear until the undergraduate senior design project.
“We take all these classes that give us building blocks to prepare us for the time when we can actually talk to people at the plant and start to understand their specific process. I saw where ISyE fit into these spaces, but it was mostly theoretical. But there was a moment during the senior design project where I thought ‘Oh, that’s what Professor Miller meant. That’s why we need that!’.”
These moments and realizations now seep into her everyday career, and will continue to stick with her as she moves through industry.
Originally a Mechanical Engineering major, Thorne switched to ISyE because of its mix of math and process focus. The continued desire to expand that connection led her to the Master program.
“The truth is, I stumbled upon ISyE, and it worked out! It was a great experience! The undergraduate program skills can be applied to most industries. There is also a lot of flexibility with what class you can take in the MS program. The capstone project helped expand my project management and communication skills, and it was exciting to produce a product in the end.”
Through the expansion of her math, operations and process management, and technical skills, as well as the formed connections with peers and professors, the ISyE programs provided the technical critical thinking and supportive autonomy needed to participate in the world outside of academia.
“I learned how to get to the truth of a project, and this department actually cared about me. It all makes a difference, it really does.”