How this criminology major benefitted from a Master of Science in Management
Michael Todd completed the Master of Science in Management (MSM) program in 2017. Michael earned his bachelor’s degree in criminology from University of Florida and did the combined MSM program. Today, Michael works at SumTotal Systems in Gainesville as Product Manager.
Read on to see why Michael said the UF MSM program was “the perfect way to kick-start my career in business, technology and leadership.”
Q: Tell us about yourself.
Todd: “I attended the University of Florida because of its status in the state – and the country – as one of the best universities I could attend. I chose criminology as my undergraduate degree since I was, when I started in 2012, planning on going to law school. While I was a student, I volunteered hundreds of hours of service through Alpha Phi Omega on campus and the Boy Scouts of Central Florida. Through that work I was more engaged with management and leadership, and through my position with UF IT I was more engaged with technology and learning; as I worked through my junior year, I found that I needed to refocus my education on what I already found I enjoyed doing.”
Q: Why did you decide to join the MSM program as a criminology major?
Todd: “Joining the MSM program was a great way to take the flexibility of my undergraduate degree and my work and life experiences and help develop skills related to leadership and management. I could not have enjoyed the MSM program more – the instructors especially stood out as the highest of quality and every single class I took was focused and added something new to my skill set.”
Q: Tell us about your journey after graduation and how the MSM helped you?
Todd: “Since I graduated, I’ve worked in training and development at SumTotal Systems here in Gainesville, designing training programs and writing feature documentation while working with folks from around our company to help enable success at every level. My MSM played a critical role – not only did I succeed in the originally prescribed duties, I leveraged my MSM-honed skills to develop additional responsibilities around data analysis and program management to make a significant impact in our organization. Recently, I accepted a promotion to Product Manager, where I’ll be conducting business intelligence and overseeing the development and roll-out of new features and enhancements to our software – all of which lessons from the MSM program play a part in.”
Todd: “My advice for current MSM students is to take advantage of the opportunities at your fingertips. I’m talking about all the interesting classes you can take, the professional resources the program has to offer, and all the clubs and groups you can get involved in with UF. Working with others is such a critical part of life – leading a club or practicing your interviews or sparking conversations with professors are all excellent practice for the real world – and these opportunities won’t be as available after college. If you’re a criminology major (or any liberal arts major, really) – I’d double down on that first point: get a wide breadth of classes under your belt – politics, philosophy, sociology, statistics, anthropology, public speaking – to build out your exposure to different subjects and different viewpoints.”
Q: Can you share some fun facts about yourself?
Todd: “I still have the pleasure of volunteering for Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed national service fraternity and the Boy Scouts of America on a local and national level, where I bring my program management and learning and development skills to various national committees and events. In what free time I have left, I enjoy trying craft beer, making coffee, backpacking, watching Star Wars and travelling with my girlfriend Frankie (also a UF grad!).”
