December 12, 2024

Mizzou Engineering faculty member Michael Poehlman teaches a class on leadership in engineering, featuring guest speakers to share advice with students.

Mizzou stands out as one of the top colleges for future leaders  because our faculty understand the power of learning from and engaging with today’s leaders.

That’s where Michael Poehlman comes in. An adjunct instructor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, he teaches a class on Engineering Leadership each semester and facilitates students bringing in alumni and other leaders to present to the class.

“While not proclaiming to be an expert on the subject of leadership, I prefer to lean on real time industry leaders from different technical and engineering leadership roles to help me teach the course,” Poehlman said. “By offering a wide cross-section of speakers to the students, students can see first-hand a variety of leadership styles and deliveries. They see not only the different perspectives of each speaker, but more importantly, the common characteristics that make up great leaders in general.”

Each week, these guest speakers discuss their careers and share advice on how to follow similar, or different, paths to success. The students then lead debrief discussions on the presentations, fostering thoughtful reflection on the experience.

“I registered for this course originally because of my advisor, Tami Beatty,” Zac Walsh, an electrical engineering student in the class said. “I have always been interested in moving to a management role at some point in my career but was unaware of this class until Tami recommended it to me.”

This fall, 11 guest speakers visited campus, speaking to students about the importance of strong communication skills, resilience, authenticity and continuous growth. Half of the speakers were Mizzou alumni, able to connect their success with memories and skills specific to their Mizzou education.

Graham Mattox, another senior electrical engineering student, shared that since taking the class, he’s recommended it to other students so they know more about what to expect when they enter an industry career.

“The skills and knowledge you gain from this class can make transitioning from college to your career much easier, and it can even help make you more desirable to companies because you have a solid base of personal and professional skills to work from,” he said. “With a large portion of this class being guest speaker lectures, you can make a lot of connections to grow your network even before you leave college.”

Both Mattox and Walsh shared that the soft skills the class teaches make it stand out from other coursework. For Mattox, the focus on communication and leadership attitudes are two of the many things he will take away from the course. For Walsh, it’s the networking opportunities.

“My favorite part of the course is the ability to network with extremely successful people,” Walsh said. “I have had the chance to contact and ask questions to multiple presenters in upper-management positions. Networking is so important in today’s world and this class has facilitated a perfect environment for us students to experience that.”

Mattox shared that the most important thing he’s taken away from the course is that even in leadership positions, nobody is perfect.

“The concept of being a life-long learner is key to continuing to develop your personal skills and adapt to new situations and challenges you will face in your life,” he said.

Thank you to our Fall 2024 Engineering Leadership Class Speakers!

Choose a university that prepares students for leadership roles. Choose Mizzou Engineering!