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TJ Wisham is, and always has been, a busy man.

As both an undergraduate and graduate student at UL Lafayette, he was a running back for Ragin’ Cajuns football and was active in several student organizations.

As a first-year student in the University’s online M.S. in Systems Technology program, he was crowned Homecoming King by a panel of faculty and staff because of his academic and extracurricular accomplishments. 

And now, less than a year after his graduation from the program, he has a full-time role in the field, a family business he’s helping grow, and two companies of his own.

For Wisham, the online systems technology graduate program was the bridge between his time as a student, leader, and athlete and his promising future as a professional.

Getting Involved as an Online Student

“To live forever, cherish the now.”

That’s the mantra Wisham lives by.

“This was something that I expressed a lot when I was Homecoming King,” he recalls. “I want to live in a manner today such that whoever I run into, whoever I come into contact with, whoever I communicate with, cherishes the way I made them feel.”

Throughout his time at UL Lafayette, both as an undergraduate general studies student and a graduate systems technology online student, Wisham showed a dedication to making an impact on his campus and his community.

In addition to playing on the football team, he served as vice president of the Black Student-Athlete Association and as a football representative on the University’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

“Being able to have conversations with University administration about things we needed as athletes and as African Americans during my time was big for me,” Wisham recalls. “Administration was very open to ideas and very supportive of athletics and social justice issues. It meant a lot to have our President, Dr. Savoie, reach out and want to hear and talk to us about certain things and be supportive.”

Starting the Systems Technology Program

Even though Wisham thrived on campus as an undergraduate student at UL Lafayette, he also wanted to set himself up for success after college.

That’s why he enrolled in the online M.S. in Systems Technology.

“I took mainly industrial technology classes in undergrad, even though my degree was technically in general studies,” he recalls. “I love systems, and I would say systems technology is good for any person that has a background in an engineering discipline because it focuses on efficiency and processes. The better you do with those, the better your output and the better your work.”

Wisham’s key to success while completing his master’s degree online? Engineering a process that worked for him.

Wisham took a task-based approach, completing his assignments as needed during gaps in his existing work and football schedule.

“I can never really sit down and go, ‘OK, I’m going to use this block of three hours to work on this project,’” he explains. “I always like to start a task or assignment the day I get it just to get my thoughts on it, and then come back to finish it as the deadline approaches. If I try to stick to a set time, I don’t do well because my brain just doesn’t think that way.”

And, conveniently, the online format of the program helped Wisham take that approach with no hiccups. 

“It was nice to have assignments outlined ahead of time instead of having to go sit in a classroom on campus and receive them,” he says. “I got to have an outlook of what I’d be working on for the whole semester. When work and life and things came up, it was much less stressful to manage.”

Growing After College

Wisham began making the transition from star student to thriving young professional even before he earned his degree.

In February 2022, more than a year before graduating with his M.S. in Systems Technology, he stepped into his first full-time role as a systems engineer. He earned a promotion to program manager six months later.

“The first company I worked for built boats for the military,” he says. “Any employer wants you to do a good job. But if you save money and save time while still getting a great outcome, they’ll be happy with it. Understanding things like Lean Six Sigma that focused on efficiency and limits always helped me out because it kept me from wasting company time and resources.”

Now, as a Field Advisor for IPT Global, he’s conducting pressure tests on well control equipment and well barriers offshore to ensure disasters like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill don’t happen again.

On the side, he’s helping scale his family’s construction company, is growing his own tax strategy / preparation company, and is developing a project management consulting group.

“I try to stay a little busy,” he jokes.

His goal is to be a full-time entrepreneur and business owner, taking over his family’s business and expanding its market to a regional scale.

“One thing I also enjoyed about being in systems technology was that I had elective options,” he says. “With my elective classes, I did all MBA classes. The combination of having those systems classes that focused on efficiency, while also having business classes that talked about leadership, progress, and employee empowerment will help me a lot throughout my career, especially once I get into a management position. I’ll understand how my actions affect those underneath me and above me.”

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