Teresa Schuster never expected she would have the time to be able to return to school to get her Master's degree. An active parent of two school-age children, and School Board President of the Phoenix Charter School, Teresa was immersed in her work as a Systems Engineer at L-3 Communications in Greenville, TX. Her main goal was to advance in her career utilizing her skills as an Electrical Engineer, and with the hands-on knowledge she had gained through her experience working as a Systems Engineer. But when her employer L-3 Communications partnered with Stevens Institute of Technology to offer an on-site graduate program in Systems Engineering, she took advantage of the opportunity.

The Systems Engineering Masters degree program at L-3 Communications is delivered through Stevens' Systems Design and Operational Effectiveness (SDOE) program, an innovative module-based delivery format where corporate and government sponsors provide employees with the opportunity to participate and attend Systems Engineering classes on-site in an intensive one-week instructor-led format. Encouraged by the SDOE delivery format and the reputation of the Stevens Systems Engineering program, L-3 Communications committed in the interests of enhancing the systems engineering skills of their engineers, and bringing them to a new level of leadership, while preserving the valuable balance of work and family life. “I would not have been able to complete my degree without this program,” says Schuster.

Schuster began working as a systems engineer at Lockheed Martin, before there was a recognized title for the broad integrative engineering work she was doing. As an Engineering Analyst, she authored specifications, lead Request For Proposal processes, and evaluated proposals for the Joint Strike Fighter Tactical Navigation System. She analyzed designs for the F-22 Rate Sensor, Accelerometer, and Backplane Assemblies. Her work included troubleshooting and resolving aircraft recurring problems, as well as interfacing with suppliers to work out manufacturing, designing, and testing difficulties.

In 2003, she moved from Fort Worth to Greenville, TX to work for L-3 Communications as a Senior Systems Engineer, in charge of avionics equipment installation and integration, writing specifications for the Aircraft Performance Computer, as well as assisting in the development of architecture for the C-26 aircraft proposal. She was regularly required to gather customer requirements, research commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions, create drawings for the lab, fabricate structures for and wire systems in the lab, write test procedures for aircraft, and conduct test flights. Since graduating in 2007, she has been promoted to Principle Systems Engineer at L-3 Communications.

By the time she encountered Stevens, she had been on the receiving end of a tremendous amount of on-the-job training, but was looking to participate in a degree-based program run by a recognized institution, and taught by professors who themselves had been practitioners and were able to relate to her work experience. “The focus on risk management and project management changed the way I approach my work,” said Schuster. “Now I take on more of a leadership role in managing projects, leading integration – it’s changed the way I think about problems, and I’m more efficient.”

While she had many favorite classes, the Systems Thinking class with Dr. John Boardman was one that stays with her as being a great group lead by an engaging instructor who would pepper his classes with references to popular movies in every genre, as well as examples of projects he had worked on, and made the class feel like a solid unit. She relished the freedom they had in her classes to bring examples in from their personal, professional and ‘pop culture’ lives in order to bring concepts to life, or link difficult ideas together.

She also feels newly confident in acknowledging her responsibility to document her work through published papers and presentations at conferences, as a member of the wider community of Systems Engineering professionals. Schuster completed her Masters in Systems Engineering with a 4.0 GPA in 2007, and says the School of Systems and Enterprises community have treated her like a colleague and a true professional in her research and work. She has recently co-authored a paper on "Networking Concepts Comparison for Avionics Architecture" with Dr. Dinesh Verma, Dean of the School of Systems and Enterprises, and plans to present her work at the MILCOM Conference and the Digital Avionics Systems Conference in the Fall.

Photo Caption: Teresa Schuster, 3rd from left , L-3 Communications SDOE Class