Grace Blackford who dual majored in Project and Supply Chain Management (PSCM) and Management Information Systems (MIS) and went on to earn an MBA at Penn State Behrend.
Dual degrees help recent graduate find her niche
While some students cringe when professors assign a group project, Grace Blackford ’21, ’22, wasn’t one of them.
“I’m a people person,” said Blackford who dual majored in Project and Supply Chain Management (PSCM) and Management Information Systems (MIS) and went on to earn an MBA at Penn State Behrend. “I like to be around other people and work on a team. I also am very organized, so being able to use my organizational and social skills to help manage projects and understand complex supply chains is a good fit for me.”
Blackford is an associate information technology project manager in the IT Apprentice Program at Erie Insurance.
It’s a two-year rotational program in which participants work on different IT teams, learning and expanding their skillset.
“The IT Apprentice Program was one of the things that attracted me to Erie Insurance because I knew I wanted to gain a breadth of knowledge early in my career,” she said.
Business News talked with Blackford to learn more about her career path:
Why did you decide to dual major?
Initially, I was pursuing only a PSCM degree, but after taking a few MIS courses, I realized that I wanted to learn more about it. MIS was completely unfamiliar to me when I started at Behrend, but I liked coding and knew it would be useful in any sector.
How would you explain your degrees to people unfamiliar with them?
I explain that I have two business degrees, one is focused on logistics and managing projects, while the other is focused on using technologies, such as Excel, to interpret data.
How does your education help you in your current role?
I use my project management skills every day to coordinate project tasks. The skills I learned in MIS help me grasp the technical aspects of the projects I manage. It’s nice because I can understand and speak the jargon of both the business and IT sides of a project team.
In what other ways did the Black School prepare you?
Group projects really helped because almost everything I do now involves working collaboratively. At Behrend, I learned how to work with people I might not have otherwise, people who had different ways of communicating, approaching projects, and dividing the work.
How did you get your job?
I started at Erie Insurance in the summer of 2020 as an IT intern in a business analyst role. I worked remotely throughout my senior year. When I graduated, I started working full time in the apprentice program. After completing the two-year program, apprentices join an IT team as a professional level employee.
What do you like about your job?
I like that project management is one big puzzle with competing priorities, and my role is to find harmony and keep everyone happy. I feel accomplished when I am able to help the pieces fall into place, my team members are confident in their work, and our project is making progress.
What are your future goals?
I’d like to pursue Project Management Professional certification. My long-term goal is to be an IT supervisor.
What advice do you have for current students?
Raise your hand when opportunities arise. Say yes to every learning experience. Join different clubs. Try new things.