"The skills I learned from the Enterprise Systems Center (ESC) has helped prepare me for a successful transition into the Capital Equipment Valuation & Modeling group at Ernst & Young. The different project opportunities that the ESC provided was a perfect supplementation to the technical skills I developed through the rigorous Industrial Engineering curriculum at Lehigh. The teamwork structure on each project taught me how to collaborate with a diverse group of students and allowed me to work closely with the ESC consultants who acted as great role models and resources for project related questions or even career advice. Leadership skills, communications skills, project management skills, and leveraging teamwork are some of the many invaluable skills I developed through working closely with the ESC. I have only been at Ernst & Young for a few months and I am already noticing how well prepared the ESC has made me for a long and healthy career in operations research."
Austin Orr
"Working with ESC help me to developed important skills such as communication and presentation skills, project management and business strategy analysis and simulation techniques and data analysis. Most of the projects I had the opportunity to work were focused on implementation and deliverables. In particular, I would like to mention my experience in applying simulation techniques to solve inventory management problems. Leading companies are seeking professional with skills and capabilities to make things happen. In my current job I have been able to successfully develop and implement simulation models to support supply chain projects. Again, my experience with ESC was key in terms to close the gap between theory and real business cases giving me relevant experience and knowledge to success on my future professional challenges."
Guillermo Bobadilla
"I need to say that, ESC has literally changed my life! As an international student, getting professional experience started in the U.S. was the most difficult and frustrating part to me. Luckily, the ESC was there to open the first window for me. Since then, my experience at the ESC has become my most outstanding accomplishment on my resume. The project managers and mentors at ESC are incredibly nice and helpful: they are remarkable professionals in industries who are very willing to work with and share their experience with students. Instead of being a 'boss', they are actually your teachers and your friends, you can learn so much from them. The ESC also does its best to help students take their next steps in careers, by introducing them to potential employers. I can't express enough how gratitude I am for all the help I gained and all that I learned from ESC, one cannot wish for a better place to start building up his/her professional skills and experience with!"
Meng Sun
"I wanted to thank you for the invaluable experiences and mentoring that have been provided to me during my experiences with the Enterprise Systems Center. Through the projects that I worked on I was able to learn many things I otherwise would not have experienced in a classroom and I attribute these teachings a great deal to my success in attaining a full-time position with KPMG working in their IT Enabled Transformation division. My work as a consultant through the ESC was the closest experience I have had throughout college to what I will be doing in my professional consulting position and most likely a huge factor in qualifying me for the position. Many of my main talking points during interviews centered around my experiences with the Enterprise Systems Center."
Kevin Forsberg
"The ESC programs at Lehigh helped me question who I want to be and where I want to go in life. I first-handedly witnessed faculty, industry sponsors and friends, and classmates help each other grow as individuals in my leadership class and my IE 154 senior project. I am very thankful for my experience with the ESC programs. They helped me become a better leader as well as find my new path as a graduate student in the energy systems engineering program at Lehigh. ESC must continue to give future students the same experience I have received."
William Hogan
"Beginning my freshman year I became engaged with project work at the Enterprise Systems Center. Over the course of my four years career at Lehigh I worked on a total of five different projects with several mentors and faculty. This had an enormous impact on my ability to perfect my project management skills and to help me connect with the application of course content to real world situations. I am now working for a company where my understanding of a variety of potential applications of operations research and particularly analytics is proving to be extremely useful. I do not believe I could have gotten this experience at any other school."
David Gritz
"Upon completion of my yearlong employment with the ESC, I decided to start my own web development consulting firm with some of my Lehigh friends. I can say with absolute sincerity that without the Enterprise Systems Center, I would never have had the ability to be a software consultant before I even graduated, let alone start my own business. I am very grateful for all the opportunities I was given and all of the lessons that I learned courtesy of the Enterprise Systems Center. Becoming involved with the ESC was easily the best decision I made during my time at Lehigh. The experiences I gained through ESC gave me a head start in industry, giving me practical experience that made my resume stand out in a fiercely competitive applicant pool in a time of recession and hiring freezes. I hope that this organization continues to thrive and provide life changing experiences for future generations of Lehigh students."
Alan Zaniewski, Jr.
"It's been over two years since I've been in the professional world and I can honestly say that it's felt like much more - mostly do to the fact that my holistic education at Lehigh has enabled me with a leap start into very interesting aspects of work. I hit the ground running and am now engaged in strategic planning that is directly impacting high level decision making. I can largely attribute this to the fact that I was able to 'see, hear, and understand' so much during my undergraduate and graduate studies. I think you would find it pleasing to hear that I have recalled experiences at the ESC multiple times over the past month. The multiple internships, extra-curricular engagements, leadership programs and certifications have left me in a fortunate place where the only option is to continuing building success. I'd like to sincerely thank Emory Zimmers and Gus for their mentorship and stress of exposure as the most valuable inputs to my overall university experience. I'm proud to be a Lehigh engineer and am very happy that students continue to benefit from your care and hard work."
Michael Ratajczyk
"I received my undergraduate degree in Integrated Business and Engineering and a master’s degree in Management Science from Lehigh University. During this time I participated in many leadership programs at Lehigh, however, one of the most significant experiences was my work with the Enterprise Systems Center. The industry project I worked on taught me skills that I would not have had the opportunity to learn inside the classroom. I was able to see the company from 40,000 feet from beginning to end of their production process; As well as get down to the specific details of several departments everyday activities. The exposure that I received on this project is priceless and experience was also a great asset in my interviews for jobs. There were countless times I know I used my ESC experience as examples to answer questions. Not only was it great experience but because of how involved I was in the project and how hands on the project was I was able to talk about this experience with knowledge and enthusiasm which I believe the interviewers recognized. There is no doubt that ESC’s experience helped me practice my soft skills and will in my future projects with the company. All in all, I am glad that I participated in ESC during my time at Lehigh and I would highly recommend the experience to anyone else."
Peter Orlandi
"Working at the Enterprise Systems Center has given me invaluable experience with real-world projects having several deliverables and deadlines to meet. As a graduate student pursuing a Master's of Engineering in Management Science and Engineering through the Presidential Scholarship, projects related to operations research and associated technical areas is especially important to me. My work at the ESC started in the spring semester of my senior year through Senior Project (ISE 154) which involved working at a medical device company in Allentown. I continued to work for the ESC through a project at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem which started at the end of summer and continued through the middle of fall. Working over this time period I also believe that I have strengthened skills such as attention to detail, communication, teamwork, and analytical problem solving. I definitely feel that my experience at the ESC will help me in my future endeavors. Their projects have provided a great stepping stone from college to the working world. The mentors at ESC are all very accomplished and well-versed in their fields of expertise, and they are a pleasure to work with.
Nigel Corea
"I enjoy my time at ESC a lot majorly because it is the best platform I have ever experienced to build the gap between school work and real world business environment, the best platform for me to get comfortable with challenges and differences among international cultures. Technology skills are valued and can be horned on projects at ESC, besides that, the one thing that I can hardly gain from anywhere else is more self-confidence. Through collaborating with peer student engineers and mentors, I have gained many team work experience and am able to identify various of leadership styles so that I know how to behave in given settings. After one-year at ESC, I found myself a lot more confident during interview processes, when facing challenges and willing to take initiative to solve problems not only in professional environment but also in my personal life."
Jieli Tian
"I consider my project completed through the Enterprise Systems Center to be one of the most valuable experienced during my time at Lehigh University. Through the center, I had the opportunity to get hands-on experience working on a real-world problem. With the mentorship of the ESC faculty/staff, my colleague and I were able to work effectively with our industry team and provide a solution to save time, reduce errors, and increase overall efficiency on their assembly line. Through this project, I further developed my ability to approach a problem, collaborate with a diverse team, and deliver results, which has helped me tremendously early in my career. The ESC helped me to identify my own strengths and weaknesses, which I will continue to develop throughout my career." Anthony Palacio
"The Enterprise Systems Center (ESC) has been at the heart of my college career. After switching into the Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) department during my sophomore year, I was a little lost as to how to get involved and connected in my new discipline. The ESC was extremely helpful in aiding me in the internship search process by offering advice, recommendations, and a whole lot of patience. The ESC soon became a place where I would study, meet with friends, and talk to the ESC personnel about anything happening in my life. The people that work here are genuinely interested in helping students and strive to serve us as best they can. Since an internship is required to be an ISE major, the ESC secured me a summer project (after countless failed attempts of trying to find a job back home). The ESC has provided me a sense of comfort and because of them I was happy and successful during my summer project internship, senior year capstone course, and independent study. I am forever grateful to have met these incredible individuals and all the others (especially my mentor) I interacted with through connections made by the ESC."
Elisabeth Oglevee
"Working with the Enterprise Systems Center (ESC) over the past three years has been one of the best experiences I have had in my time at Lehigh. It is a network of experienced mentors and hardworking students that form effective project teams to create solutions for real industry application. I had the privilege of working with other consulting companies on the development of a cutting-edge software platform as an undergraduate student. From my time at the ESC I was able to develop myself as a young professional by really learning the skills that are needed to succeed as an Industrial and Systems Engineer. Gaining real-world experience is essential for most entry-level jobs and the ESC helped me gain this invaluable experience as a student. The ESC is a place that truly values the development of students and the sharing of professional insights from professionals with years of industry experience. I feel prepared and motivated to excel from the interactions and guidance that I have gained from my involvement with the ESC."
Charles Mulroone