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KALAMAZOO, Mich.—"Where does a master's degree fit into all of this?"

Sarah Eggerstedt never thought about going back to school until her supervisor encouraged her during an annual review. As the associate director of admissions, operations at Â鶹´«Ã½ and mother of two young children, going to graduate school seemed impossible.

"She really felt it was a good step for me, especially being in higher education, so that gave me the boost to start looking," says Eggerstedt.

Having graduated from Western on Saturday, April 27, with a master's degree in organizational change leadership (OCL), Eggerstedt has already started a career in her new field.

In her new role as an organizational change management consultant, she will be part of the team building professional and leadership development programs for staff in University of Michigan's Information and Technology Services (ITS). Combining her experience in higher education and newly acquired skills, she is prepared to make a change. 

A NEW DIRECTION

Having an undergraduate degree in geological and earth sciences and a minor in communication, Eggerstedt didn't have a clear direction for what she wanted to study at WMU. 

"I worked in the geosciences for the first half of my career, with the second half of my career dedicated to higher education, so I had a lot of degree programs I was considering," says Eggerstedt. "When searching I came across the OCL program, and I thought it sounded interesting. So, I pulled up the information about it and looked at the courses, and what really draw me in was the curriculum. I really liked what I was seeing. I thought the courses sounded not only interesting, but also the material could be applied to almost any job."

Successfully graduating with her masters in spring 2024, Eggerstedt is now prepared to start applying what she has been studying to her new role at University of Michigan. She will be part of the team building Information and Technology Service's (ITS) organizational development program. A department of over 700 employees, ITS provides reliable and technology services at the university and its medical centers, University of Michigan Health. 

"The team is new and we're actually building up the organizational development program from scratch because U-M has never hired a organizational change consultant within ITS, and I believe it will be the first dedicated role at the university," says Eggerstedt.

Her team is currently in the process of creating a three tiered training program to establish familiarity, practice methods and become certified in change management.

"The first level is to provide a basic understanding. Then the second level is more practice base, this is for people who are in roles dealing with change management. Lastly, at the third level we're going to be doing a certificate that signifies they're able to conduct change management within the workplace," says Eggerstedt.

Eager to start the new training program, Eggerstedt still credits the organizational change leadership program in setting her up for a new career.

"Being in the organizational change leadership program at Western gave me the different skill sets needed to approach people and understand how we learn and how we all deal with the world differently. The program really helped me and my cohort to have. better perspective for helping people and I think that's one of the best things that you can do in any role that you're in," adds Eggerstedt.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE LEADERSHIP AT WMU

The Master of Arts in Organizational Change Leadership is designed to address one of the most critical and sought after competencies required in today’s organizations: the ability to lead effective change. Designed for a diverse assemblage of individuals working in a variety of organizations and industry sectors, this competency-grounded program combines research, theory and practice to build capacities to effectively lead and develop individuals, groups and organizations in an age of globalization. With a Â鶹´«Ã½ degree in organizational change leadership, you will join other forward-thinking professionals who are setting new standards of excellence in change leadership. Connect with a group of professionals working in a variety of organizations who are studying and practicing methods that make the change process run smoother, smarter, faster and more efficiently.  To learn more, visit the program webpage.

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