Technological leadership graduate customizes degree to fit goals

Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2022 graduates.

Miles English will walk at graduation this May as he prepares to receive his Bachelor of Science in technological leadership this August with an eye toward a career in project management.

English switched to the technological leadership degree as a sophomore, and he quickly found success in his interdisciplinary, hands-on courses.

“My favorite part is the freedom that all the teachers give us to explore what we are interested in learning. Basically every teacher I’ve had has had the mindset of ‘take this information and mold it to what’s going to help you in the future.’”

English decided to focus on project management at the advice of one of his professors. Over winter break one year, he earned the Project Management Institute’s Certified Associate in Project Management, and then leveraged his remaining technological leadership courses to deepen his experience leading teams.

“We have a lot of agency in the program to learn what we want to learn and shape our coursework. A large part of this program is group work, and you can take the role of trying to get everyone organized, setting goals for the future, and setting the pathway. Then you can really start to learn project management work as it is.”

“In the spring 2021 semester, I proposed and took the lead of a project called Desert Skies Learning which is a space education website with lessons to help K–12 students learn about aerospace in an approachable manner. For the past three semesters, I've felt a natural placement in my roles beginning as grant and project coordinator and evolving into leading our ASU and external outreach.”

The project was part of the program’s HDA 296 and HDA 496 Creative Futures Studio course series, which fulfills the “making” course requirement of the degree. In these courses, students create fully-realized design ideas and lead creative ventures, while consciously developing skills in self-analysis, cultural competencies, and communication.

As part of the technological leadership program, students learn complex problem solving, hands-on technology design, and leadership skills through an interdisciplinary blend of classroom learning and research — preparing graduates to succeed in a wide range of endeavors, from the tech or finance industry, to think-tanks or consulting firms, to earning an advanced degree. 

In addition to their required coursework, students in the technological leadership degree are required to complete two internships. English’s first internship exposed him to the world of project management, allowing him to gain real-world experience and further refine his career goals and ambitions.

As he prepares to graduate, English is looking for a career in the aerospace industry, but knows his options are wide open thanks to the agency built into the major that allowed him to follow his own interests and work on a wide-variety of student-driven projects. 

After completing his final internship this summer, English will officially graduate in August.