In the latest episode of Victors in Grad School, Dr. Christopher Lewis sits down with Ryan Thomas, an accomplished auditor with the National Guard and dual degree holder from the University of Michigan, Flint. Ryan’s journey is a testament to the power of networking, mentorship, and balancing academics with career responsibilities. This blog post delves into the key aspects of their conversation and the valuable lessons Ryan’s experience offers to anyone navigating the complexities of educational and professional advancement.

The Power of Networking

Ryan emphasizes that networking was pivotal in his career success. After completing his undergraduate degree, Ryan faced immense challenges securing employment despite having a strong GPA. Recognizing the limitations of traditional job applications, he turned to networking. Ryan’s connection with staff accountants during his time as a janitor at the VA in Battle Creek, Michigan, eventually led to an interview and paved the path for his first role in accounting.

Ryan underscores the importance of building relationships and seeking help when needed. He believes that people are often willing to assist if you reach out. This mindset not only opened doors but also provided Ryan with the support he needed to navigate his career path.

Mentorship and Professional Development

Mentorship played a crucial role in Ryan’s journey. He advises finding mentors who have achieved goals similar to yours and learning from their experiences. Mentors can offer invaluable guidance on managing conflicts and challenges in one’s career. Ryan’s educational path was significantly influenced by such guidance, leading him to switch from finance to accounting based on a mentor’s advice.

Beyond accounting courses, Ryan highlights the significance of diverse coursework in understanding organizational culture and improving core competencies. His education in organizational behavior has taught him the necessity of aligning personal values with the company’s mission, a lesson that has been instrumental in his professional growth.

The Transition to Graduate School

Ryan’s transition from undergraduate to graduate studies required significant lifestyle adjustments. Graduate coursework demanded more intensive time commitments, reducing social activities and pushing Ryan to dedicate his evenings to studying. The dual degree program—MBA and MS in Accounting—offered both flexibility and valuable in-person interactions every six weeks, which facilitated deeper learning and networking opportunities.

Balancing Work and Life

Balancing work responsibilities with academic commitments was a challenge Ryan had to navigate adeptly. To manage his increased workload, he developed effective strategies like studying immediately after work or utilizing the library to minimize distractions. He also found solace in nature, meditation, yoga, and exercise to manage stress and maintain balance.

Encouragement and Community Support

Encouragement from counselors and staff at the University of Michigan, Flint’s School of Management played a vital role in Ryan’s decision to pursue further education. Post-graduation, his church community provided spiritual support, especially during the times he faced setbacks, reinforcing the importance of a strong support system.

Ryan Thomas’s journey highlights the immense value of networking, seeking mentorship, and maintaining a balanced life while pursuing higher education and career goals. His experience is a beacon of inspiration for anyone striving to merge academic pursuits with professional aspirations. Tune into this insightful episode of “Dads with Daughters” to delve deeper into Ryan’s story and gather invaluable lessons for your own journey.

TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:01]:
Welcome to the victors in grad school, where we have conversations with students, alumni, and experts about what it takes to find success in graduate school.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:11]:
Welcome back to victors in grad school. I’m your host, doctor Louis, director of graduate programs at the University of Michigan, Flint. Really excited to have you back again this week. You know, every week I love being able to be on this journey with you. I know I say that every week, but it is true. I love being able to talk with you, to walk with you, to work with you as you’re going through this process. No matter where you’re going, what you’re doing, it is a process. It is a journey.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:38]:
And every person has to walk this journey by themselves, but you don’t have to walk alone. And that’s what’s so important is that there are so many people around you that have gone through this process for themselves, that have learned things along the way, and they’ve been able to find success. Now, sometimes they may have stumbled, but they picked themselves up and kept going. And this show is here to be able to not only show you that, but to give you some hints, some tips, some tools for your own toolbox to help you to be able to find success in the journey that you currently are on or that you’re currently going to be on. So that’s why every week I love being able to bring you different guests, different people with different experiences that have gone through this process for themselves to be able to share that journey that they went through with you so that you can learn from them. Today, we got another great guest with us today. Ryan Thomas is with us. And Ryan is an auditor with the National Guard.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:41]:
And he is based down south in South Carolina and has been working as an auditor for some time. But he did his undergraduate work at the University of Michigan, Flint and then went on and got a dual degree. And we’re gonna talk about what that means. He got a dual graduate degree of both an MBA and a master of science in accounting. So we’re gonna be talking about that journey and the journey to getting those 2 graduate degrees at the University of Michigan Flint as well. And I’m really excited to have him here today. Ryan, thanks so much for being here.

Ryan Thomas [00:02:13]:
I’m glad to be here. Thanks for having me.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:02:15]:
Yeah. It’s my pleasure having you here today. I love being able to talk to different people and learn about the journeys that they went on. Now I mentioned that you did your undergraduate work at the University of Michigan Flint, and I love starting these conversations turning the clock back in time. So I want to go back a couple years. I want to go back to the, to that point in time back in your undergraduate days where you probably had that inkling, that inkling in your mind that you wanted to continue your education. Talk to me about that. And what made you decide that you wanted to go to graduate school?

Ryan Thomas [00:02:48]:
Sure. I had just got honorably discharged out the, military and wanted to kind of find my way out in the workforce. And I figured that one of the best ways that I could build value and credibility was to go get my degree. My mom had went to the University of Michigan Flint, and she just loved it. She used to take me up there when when I was a child, and she would take me to some of her classes. And so, I was very familiar with the campus and decided to go ahead and go into accounting. It was very interesting that I used to go to the rec center as a child, and so I’ve always had this nostalgic feeling about the the University of Michigan and the Wolverines. So I was very proud to be on the campus and to be able to be in accounting program.

Ryan Thomas [00:03:32]:
And I actually began my first major in finance, and I was getting ready to go across the stage. And one of the professors has set me up with a mock interview with the director over international sales at Dow Chemical. And I sat down with them, and we talked about possibilities. And one of the things that he had mentioned to me, he was like, there’s a lot of people that’s in finance. You don’t necessarily have to have a degree to actually work in finance. And he was like, you know, but there’s a lot of opportunities in accounting. And, like, there’s comptrollers, there’s people that do consulting. And I remember looking at my credits and only needed, like, about 4 more classes, so I decided to go back for another year and get my degree in accounting.

Ryan Thomas [00:04:20]:
And when I finished up, I had a very difficult time to find an employment. What I learned is that a lot of the employers require experience in accounting. So although I have my degree, I had a difficult time transitioning into some of the prominent accounting firms like Robert Half or Ernst and Young. And so I had a difficult time trying to get in because I just had my GPA, which is pretty good, and I have my degree. So I just started to do some volunteer work, and that’s how I began to get my experience. And so I started volunteering my services. And one of the things that I thought was I might as well, while I’m just starting out and finding my way and building experiences, I might as well continue to go to school. So I ended up deciding to go into the graduate program.

Ryan Thomas [00:05:06]:
And there was a lot of influence from the counselors and from the staff members at the School of Management. And those relationships with my professors and with that staff really encouraged me to, wanna continue school there. They were always very understanding. I could approach to them even when I had, life issues coming outside the classroom. They were very approachable, and I enjoyed the way they taught. And so, I ended up going through the dual program at the University of Michigan Flint because I began finding some opportunities in accounting as I was going to school. Found my first opportunity at the VA in Battle Creek, Michigan, and I was working there as a staff accountant. And and and believe it or not, before I became a staff accountant, I had to get a job as a janitor at the VA.

Ryan Thomas [00:05:57]:
And what happened was there were individuals in the, the department that had called out. I’m sorry. There was a there was somebody that was assigned to the, to the accounting building. And the person that called out and everyone was scared to actually go over there and clean because they were very meticulous. They were very, you know, they were quick to to call in if you made a mistake. And so I ended up volunteering, going over there and cleaning, and started networking. I had conversations with the staff accountants there. And, lo and behold, one of them who I established a relationship with, it told me about interviews that was occurring within the department, and I ended up going out for it.

Ryan Thomas [00:06:37]:
And I went to the interview, did really well, and I ended up coming back to work the next day as a janitor. And the chief of accounting had came up to me, and she was like her name was Nancy. And Nancy came up to me while I was in my janitor closet, and she was like, Ryan, you did a great job. She was like, but, we decided to go with somebody else. And I was like, look, and I was like, okay. And I was just grateful. I was just, you know, I I thought that I was I was grateful to have a job at the time. I know how tough it was trying to transition.

Ryan Thomas [00:07:07]:
I went a long period of time without work being a student and trying to get my foot in the door, not having that much experience even though I had my degree. And so I was just like, you know, that’s okay. There’d be another opportunity. And then, you know, I went on to work and continued on. And I remember I ended up going to church that Sunday, and I had told my pastor that I was going for the interview for the accounting position. And he brought me up in front of the church. There’s big old spotlight on me, and he was like, yeah. Yeah.

Ryan Thomas [00:07:35]:
Ryan, come up here. And I I came up there, and I just looked at him and I started shaking my head like, no. No. I I didn’t I didn’t get the job. I mean, thank God. He looked at me and he said, you didn’t get the job yet. And he called up the elders and they prayed over me. And I was just like, okay.

Ryan Thomas [00:07:52]:
And so I received prayer. And that Monday, the next day, I got a phone call from HR saying that the individual who had initially accepted the position declined the position because they were using that job as leverage to receive a promotion at the job that they had there. And they offered me the position, and so I started working at the VA. And I continued to work and go through the graduate dual program because it allowed space for me to work full time and be able to do classes part time online. And then every 6 weeks, I believe it was, we would, you know, spend a a weekend and face to face with our professors and be able to ask deep down questions that that that might have been puzzling us to some of the work that we were doing. And so the the program really, really kinda fit my schedule and my lifestyle, my my, quality of life of what was going on at the time.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:08:50]:
That’s quite the journey. I really appreciate you sharing that. And it kind of answers my next question, which is typically I I would ask you why U of M Flint, but you kind of answered that. And, you know, sometimes things happen in your life and they happen for a reason. And it sounds like that kind of happened for you, an opportunity, you know, and that opportunity led to further opportunities. And I guess talk to me a little bit about, you decided to do a dual degree, where you had an opportunity to be able to get 2 different degrees. And for those of you that if you don’t know what a dual degree is, a dual degree is where you get 2 different graduate degrees, but the graduate degrees have been created in such a way, or they have been linked in such a way to allow you to be able to have some courses that overlap. So in this situation, Ryan was working on an MBA degree, but he also was working on an MS in accounting.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:09:47]:
And the MBA had a concentration in accounting and those courses that were in the concentration and courses in the MS in accounting overlapped. You still have to get 2 degrees. You still have to do those additional credits, but you are cutting that down. You’re saving time and money on 2 different degrees. So talk to me about why you chose to do a dual degree versus just focusing on 1 and getting 1 and getting done. Instead, you decided to do both degrees and to come out at the end with 2 different degrees.

Ryan Thomas [00:10:23]:
Yeah. So when I had started the, School of Management and I I started the graduate program, they were just there was a lot of marketing and and a lot of exposure, and and they were really promoting the dual program at that time and offering, like you had mentioned previously, the opportunity to get 2 degrees with with, degrees that with classes that overlap. And the way I viewed it is, I wasn’t sure exactly, like, what area within accounting I really wanted to focus on, and so I wanted to have a broader view and and get exposure to the different classes that were available so that I could pinpoint and narrow my search as far as where exactly I wanted to end up at. So I’ve done budget analyst work. I’ve done general ledger accounting work, and then I’ve also done auditing. And through that class, I’ve I, you know, I I really took on took a liking to the auditing part, the the auditing courses within accounting. So, what it basically I was wanting to do was really build some credibility and build value in myself. And I figured that with 2 master degrees from the University of Michigan Flint and our degree state University of Michigan, like, I definitely wanted to be able to provide myself with as many opportunities out there.

Ryan Thomas [00:11:40]:
And I found that as I’ve progressed in my career, that’s one of the things that kinda separated me from a lot of other candidates is, having the 2 degrees, the 2 master degrees, and being able to do it within a a a short time frame. Because a lot of people will go out and get their master’s degree and then they find that, hey, maybe I wanna change fields or I wanna go into a different area and they’ll go back out and they’ll get another master’s degree, where that may takes upward towards like 6 years. I was able to do it within a shorter time frame. And now I did take some time off in between, you know, when I got that first master’s degree and then getting the second thing, but that was very convenient within the dual program. Like even though I took like a semester off, I was still able to continue to work towards that second master’s degree to continue to build value and also knowledge and expertise within accounting. So it was not just convenient for me from a practical standpoint, financially, time wise, which 2 things that I value very much, but it was also convenient in the sense that as I kinda started from the bottom floor to, you know, move up the ladder, that the 2 degrees, the 2 master degrees was something that kinda stood out and allowed me to get into some prominent places, you know, as far as working. I worked at one of the biggest accounting agencies in the world in in, DFAS, the Defense Finance and Accounting Center. And then also, had a chance to work with the Army Audit Agency, which is one of the premier auditing agencies with the government as well.

Ryan Thomas [00:13:16]:
And so, I got I got exposure to other people with experience, and it all it did was just help propel me in my career. So the dual program was awesome as far as the professors and the way they had it set up. And you essentially are going to class that entire weekend, and the program has lunch set up for you to have food, catered. And so, like, you’re going to school half of the day on Friday, and then you go out, take lunch, you get a chance to network and mingle with your, fellow classmates who you mainly just seen online. It gives you a time to gather and see face to face for for individuals who you’ve done group projects with. So it’s always good to put a face with a name, but it makes it much more personable. It, definitely makes you own your product a little bit more when you’re able to kinda personalize it. So, in that aspect, I I loved it.

Ryan Thomas [00:14:08]:
And then we would get down to the meat and bones of, like, some of the challenging portions within our work and our projects. And then once we got that information, we would be able to go back online and work through some of the class materials, some of the the text and some of the, the quizzes and a test that they have prior to finishing up the courses or whatnot. But essentially, the projects, which were to me the more challenging portions of the class within the graduate program, it was great to be able to have that flexibility of of going online, but then being able to meet together and meet with people for those projects to get on the same page. Communication is a lot more clear. So, it’s a little bit more transparent also to get on the same page with, some of the responsibilities, divvying out the work, whatnot. And then the food was great. The food was actually excellent. And then it also gives us the time to connect with the staff members, counselors, and people in the, the School of Management at that time because it was all I’m not sure if it’s still in Radisson across the street from the campus or whatnot, but that’s where we used to go on when I was going through the program.

Ryan Thomas [00:15:15]:
So it was beneficial on all different levels from that aspect.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:15:18]:
Now every student, when they go from one degree to the next, goes through some type of transition. And when you go from high school to undergrad, you had a transition. And for you, you also had some military service in there too, so you had to you had that kind of transition. And then when you went from undergrad to graduate school while balancing work, there was a transition. There’s a transition in the way that you’re being taught, the expectations on you as a student, and more. Talk to me about when you think back to those transitions, what did you have to do to set yourself up for success? And what did you have to do to maintain that success throughout your graduate school experience?

Ryan Thomas [00:16:06]:
I don’t think I really thought it through as I was doing it. But as I look back on it, one of the things that I had to do as I transitioned from undergrad to grad was I had to really make my school work a lifestyle when it came to the graduate course work. So, like, the nightly commitments to the graduate program, there’s a certain amount of hours that you put in and it’s it’s gonna equate to a certain grade that you’re gonna get out that class. Time is going to equal the achievement. So what I found is my nightlife hanging out. I kinda had to cut back on a lot of that when it came to the graduate program because it was very intense and the commitment level had increased. So most of the time in the evenings, I dedicated to the program to study and to working on the projects. And, and I look back on it now, like, I didn’t realize it at the time, but it I essentially had to kinda make a lifestyle change, kinda make it more of a lifestyle rather than just an assignment, or I’m committed to taking these classes.

Ryan Thomas [00:17:13]:
Because in the undergrad, I could skim some stuff, and I can research some things, and I could do fairly well. But with the graduate program, I know that I had to kind of really embrace the program and kind of get saturated into the material. Yeah. And I found that I had to sometime, I would read a chapter, and I would have to go back and reread it after I did some of the work. And with math, sometimes you can work backwards. And so I would do the assignments, and then sometimes I would kinda go back over the work for even after an exam, I would go back over some of the work just to make sure that I get it ingrained in me. And so I would say that that was one of the biggest challenges. And then also being able to still work at a certain competency level without school interfering was another thing, making sure that I maintain my commitment at work.

Ryan Thomas [00:18:08]:
I didn’t have to work was not as challenging when I was in the undergraduate program. But once I got into the graduate program, I got into some higher level accounting work. I started doing some some budget work, and they were increasing my responsibilities. So sometimes what I would do is, I will work late. And since I was already at work, I would just break out my textbooks and start studying like right after work. And certain times, I didn’t do it all the time, but it just kinda just goes back around to where I was stating earlier as far as the transition that I had to make personally. It’s just I’m not speaking for everybody, but just me personally, I had to kinda make it more of a lifestyle. I spent a lot of time in a library rather than going home and exposing myself to distractions like TV or anyone who might have come by or whatnot.

Ryan Thomas [00:19:03]:
And so I kinda had to immerse myself into the academic world and cut back on the social world that I was really involved in. So this is so funny. When I look back on a year that I got my graduate degree, most of the movies that year, I did not watch. So, like, when I watched movies, during the year that I grabbed my graduate degree, they’re new to me still, like, and so, I had to cut back on a lot of TV and a lot of leisure time that I had got cut back. And and and there were still ways for me to find work life balance, and and I would just sometimes just kind of relax and take time out to go buy a stream of water. One of my, favorite things to do was to go down there at the U of M Flint campus and, but not during the graduate program, but one of the favorite things I used to do is walk down by the bridge, by the dam down there at the school and just kinda sit down by the river and reflect over what I needed to do and what I’ve done and just everything that was going on in life. And it gave me a time to kinda just pause, and I I think everybody need that from time to time when you’re getting immersed into a lot of work, a lot of challenges is, you know, you sometimes we just need to kinda pause and just kinda be in the moment, just kinda kinda alleviate and get away from a lot of the busyness that can easily sometimes be overwhelming. And so that’s one of the ways that I found balances.

Ryan Thomas [00:20:32]:
Taking out time to, to pause on the weekends or even on a weekday if I if I found the minute here and there, I would take out some time to pause. At that time, I I I believe I started practicing meditation at that time. I also undertook some yoga and the gym was another outlet for me. So I started working out quite a bit also during my downtime. And then I found that that helped me with coping with some of the stress levels from school and also the work that I had because, you know, you still have responsibilities, You know, I still have to pay bills. I still had to look at other commitments even outside of school and outside of work. You know, I had, some service work that I was involved in that I wanted to maintain a commitment to. So, yeah, those are some of the things that I encountered as far as handling that transition.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:21:16]:
I really appreciate that. Now, one of the things that I am kind of interested in is you graduated. You found success in this journey that you went on with the graduate degree, and you went on into your career and being now an auditor with the National Guard, but you’ve also done other things as well along the way and be able to and keeping that connection also with the armed services in different agencies in the federal government. So you have these degrees. As you reflect back on what you learned in those degrees and you look at what you’re doing now, talk to me about the interplay there and how you see what you learned in your program, how it prepared you for the work that you do on a daily basis.

Ryan Thomas [00:22:02]:
So with the accounting, it just kinda laid the foundation in terms of the basics that I had to be able to learn. You know, you learn about t accounts, learn about general ledger accounting codes, and that’s all universal language within accounting wherever you go, whether it’s government or whether you go out into private sector. So I was able to gain that, but one of the things that I feel like stood out that helped me within my career was some of the the other classes that weren’t just the concentration in accounting, like the organizational behavior classes, learning to get vested into the mission, learning to understand, like, the company’s values and lining myself up with that. And what I found is that now I try to align my audits with the, leadership’s priorities because as we work within our field, we’re affecting other departments and other individuals. And so you wanna make sure that your work aligns with the organizational needs and with the direction and the vision of the leadership. So a lot of that organizational behavior class taught me the importance of kinda like having some ownership, really kinda learning some buy in, what what we’re doing, kinda understanding the culture of the organization. All of these are very critical things because although I I do work with numbers, I also work with people. And having some familiarity of other departments is very helpful, understanding kinda, like, what their workload may be and kinda understanding, like, what their needs are.

Ryan Thomas [00:23:38]:
So So when we kinda understand the culture and we kinda understand the values, we understand the mission, we start understanding where people needs are at, where the gaps may need to be filled in at, you know, like, and be willing to get outside the box also. So for instance, I volunteer for teaching classes. I’ve taught a class called PMDB at the VA where it’s preventative behavior. It’s like defensive postures that you can take if you’re attacked by a patient. And then, basically, if you work in a hospital, you you can’t fight back. And so you learn how to kinda guard yourself in a safe manner. Another thing that I taught was, Arbinger, and that’s, kind of like a mindset course where you kind of learn people’s motives and intentions and learn how to deal with conflict management. And so that was the other thing also as as I, progressed, I started learning the importance of core competencies, you know, interpersonal skills, learning to develop leadership skills.

Ryan Thomas [00:24:35]:
And one of the most valuable things that a lot of organizations are looking for is creative thinking. They want people to think in different perspectives and not just in one way. So because that kind of propels innovation within the organization and also kinda covers the basis on all different sides. So like I said, the accounting is great. I learned the basics, with them through the program, but there was a lot of other classes. Like I said, I attribute, like, organizational behavior to getting me an outside perspective on, like, the leadership, the development in the organization which I work in to kind of propel me. And I found that that has allowed me to take on leadership positions. I’ve led our general ledger.

Ryan Thomas [00:25:14]:
I’ve led audits and things of that nature in it. Management takes notice to that. There’s other classes that can help broaden your skill set. And instead of just of accounting, I would definitely recommend exploring those other classes and being intentional. You know, when you take those filler classes, prerequisites or, you know, classes that may not necessarily be aligned with your concentration.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:25:39]:
Now you’ve given a lot of pieces of advice today, things that I know that people can think about to be able to incorporate into their own experience. As you think about your own graduate education, you think about students that are thinking about going to graduate school, what are some tips that you might offer others that would help them find success sooner?

Ryan Thomas [00:25:58]:
Network. Network. Network. Network. I didn’t realize the power of it. When I was looking for work, I thought it was just a numbers job. No. I was putting in applications, putting applications, putting applications.

Ryan Thomas [00:26:07]:
But when you can put a face with that application and you can be able to build connections with people, you’ll get provided opportunities, you’ll get recommended for opportunities, and they tend the door tends to open up a little wider and a little bit more often than if you were to try to do it on your own. What I found is that, you know, everyone needs help at some point in time. And seeking that help through others, a lot of people are here to be able to help us out. So seeking that help, making the most out of it, making the most out of those connections is, probably one of the most valuable assets that I’ve gained within, you know, my career and also moving forward out of my graduate degrees. I some of the connections that I feel, I utilize those individuals for recommendations now, or they might, you know, recommend me for a position that opened up. We just had a, auditor position that that just became vacant. And my supervisor, she sent it to us and asked us if we know anybody. Send the word out there.

Ryan Thomas [00:27:08]:
And, you know, that’s how it all gets started. It grows from just a small thing, like, a opening popping up, and I sent it out to a couple of friends, you know, just let them know, like, hey. This opportunity is available. It’s not to say, like, hey. It’s a slam dunk or something that you could take, but it’s an option. And that was that’s the other thing I would recommend is, you know, try to have as many options as possible. There is no greater feeling than having a job opportunity that pops up that’s really great, and then being able to be like, you know what? I got something better. No.

Ryan Thomas [00:27:36]:
Thanks. And so I would definitely recommend for individuals to cast a wide net whenever you’re seeking employment or whenever you’re looking at opportunities as far as improvement, certifications, trainings, and things of that nature. You know, I I take trainings today. I was taking a training about mentorship. That’s something to get into. Those are another that’s another tip that I have for for anyone that is looking to progress and do well. Find somebody who has what you’re looking for or that has already gone to where you’ve been. And that individual call it like a recipe.

Ryan Thomas [00:28:13]:
Right? It’s like a cake recipe. If you do the certain things that they did, then you can get the same results. And just like how with the cake recipe, if you put in those same ingredients, everybody does it. You put in those same ingredients, you’re gonna get that cake. You’re gonna get the same results. So I, definitely recommend mentorship and taking individuals who are exactly where you wanna be. I found people that are in leadership positions that have been through my footsteps, and they’re in a higher position or they’re and it may may not even have to be with money. Maybe they’re happy and they’re doing well.

Ryan Thomas [00:28:48]:
You know, maybe they have a contentment and a joy to them. You know? I like to go to work and have a good feeling about it. I don’t wanna get up and dread going to work. So mentorship has helped me find some of those pathways. And sometimes, you know, you know, being able to work with people can be difficult. I found that whenever I have conflict management, being able to hash that out with a mentor and kinda walk through that tape and be like, okay. These are areas that I can improve upon, or these are areas where, hey, I couldn’t do nothing about, and I get confirmation and have a little bit more acceptance about it. So we do have those challenges as we continue to progress within our careers, And there’s nothing quite like having somebody there to provide support, provide some guidance.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:29:33]:
Well, Ryan, I just wanna say thank you for all that you shared today. You’ve been amazing in providing a ton of resources that will help individuals to be able to think about things in different ways. And I just wanna say I wish you all the best.

Ryan Thomas [00:29:49]:
Thank you. I appreciate it.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:29:50]:
The University of Michigan Flint has a full array of master’s and doctorate programs if you are continuing your education. Whether you’re looking for in person or online learning options, the University of Michigan Flint has programs that will meet your needs. For more information on any of our graduate programs, visit umflint.edu/graduateprograms to find out more. Thanks again for spending time with me as you prepare to be a victor in grad school. I look forward to speaking with you again soon as we embark together on your graduate school journey. If you have any questions or want to reach out, email me at [email protected].

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