After a year or two in college, it can become difficult to see past the drudge of papers and assignments. The prospect of a career seems abstract and unreachable. Though graduation comes sooner than it first appears, students focus on term papers rather than resumes.

Shyam Krishna graduated with a master’s degree in industrial engineering from Wichita State in 2007. Shortly after he graduated he was offered a management job, moving him from the dorms to a house of his own in Goddard, Kan. He achieved all of this within a few years of living in America.

Krishna received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Cochin University of Sciences and Technologies, in his hometown in southern India. Taking industrial engineering as an elective course in his undergraduate career, Krishna knew he wanted to go into a slightly different direction for his master’s degree.

 “When I was in my senior year of my mechanical engineering, I figured I was not a guy who can sit in front of a computer and design things,” he said. Krishna saw his future in the managerial and complimenting factors that industrial engineering had to offer.

Enrolling in courses for the fall of 2005, Krishna and his fellow students worked tenaciously under the supervision of Krishna Krishnan, chair and professor in the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department. During the two years of instruction, they learned more than what the textbook had to offer.

Krishna Krishnan’s program gave his students obstacles and practices with real world implications. In addition to coursework, Krishnan insisted that his students would walk the graduation stage as polished professionals ready to start work.  

When it came time to receive his diploma in spring of 2007, Krishna was confident and already looking at job prospects. National Plastics Color, from Goddard, spoke to Krishna’s instructor and mentor. Early that fall, he was offered the job and started work in December.

Krishna has been working at NPC for more than five years now, and manages over a dozen employees, many of whom are WSU graduates. His success was nothing short of hard work and diligent planning, a must for every student in his opinion.

“The problem with certain students is sometimes they start on something, they get confused in between, and then they move on to the next mayor,” he said. “Never give up. If you’re going to give up on your life at this stage you’re going to give up on your life in the next stage.”

Getting work done and on time is another recurring problem Krishnan has with his students. He said being able to walk off campus and into the work force is the main goal. Starting the job search six months before you graduate is an imperative step towards life after college.

Though Krishnan has a lot to say on the importance of hard work he also has a lighter message. Getting out and meeting people is not only an important step for students but also a more enjoyable one.

Krishna was living in America for two years before he went into the job force leaving him no time to struggle with cultural differences or people skills. He gives great value to trying new things and meeting new people.

Krishna said he believes that these are universal initiatives all students should take to brighten their future as well as their present.