JaJa Dumas describes his Green Belt Six Sigma Certification as one of his “proudest accolades,” the result of an intentional college search.
In late June of 2021, after graduating from the Greenville Technical College, Dumas sought out universities in South Carolina to further his education. He narrowed his choice to colleges with one specific program.
“One major stood out to me, [I believed] supply chain management was primed for a breakout and major growth in the near future,” said Dumas. “In my findings, only two universities had undergraduate degrees in South Carolina. I ended up choosing the College of Charleston, and it has been one of the best decisions of my life.”
As a supply chain management major and global logistics and transportation minor, Dumas developed well rounded business skills. Most recently, he excelled in Professor Maryam Mahdikhani’s spring 2023 Lean and Six Sigma course.
“Ever since attending the first day of Professor Mahdikhani’s class and hearing her talk about the importance of Six Sigma professionals and their earning potential, I was enticed,” said Dumas.
At the end of the course, all students had achieved lean white belt certifications, but Dumas wanted more. He was the only student in the class who went on to pursue a yellow belt, and then a green belt.
“In all honesty, getting through 24 chapters of the Green Belt Six Sigma course was not an easy task, but it was a grind and journey I am thankful for,” said Dumas. “The skills and knowledge I gained while pursuing this certification are ones I plan on utilizing to enhance my business career. I have already begun applying certain Lean Six Sigma terminology and tools to my current internship at Isringhausen. I do not plan on this being the end to my process improvement journey and will continue to add to my skillset with more knowledge and potentially going down the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification in the future.”
