Mahatma Gandhi famously encouraged, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
Eddie Utuk’s Dare, Dream, Do story is a great exemplar of this approach to life. Utuk faced a crossroads when he transitioned from a longtime military career. Though he had invaluable leadership skills and practical work experience, his steps to a civilian work life weren't clear-cut, and he felt lost.
Embarking on a transformative journey through the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt program at UC San Diego Extended Studies, Utuk was able to amplify his military transition and career trajectory in five months. More importantly, he tapped into a deeper purpose that’s allowed him to give back to fellow veterans to help them through their own times of military transition.
Discovering a New Path
In April 2023, Eddie Utuk enrolled in UC San Diego Extended Studies Lean Six Sigma Pathway 1 to complete the Lean Six Sigma Green and Black Belt program together in one course. It was to be a life-changing decision.
His choice of UC San Diego was serendipitous. At the time, he was participating in a San Diego-based Veteran’s Transition Support (VTS) program, working on securing a job and starting his new path for a post-military career. While interviewing for what he considered a dream job, Utuk learned about the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt program. Intrigued, he researched the program and applied through the Veterans Education Benefits to enroll successfully.
As Utuk pursued his new path, he was also in the process of relocating and establishing his family. A high point he notes about his experience with UC San Diego Extended Studies Lean Six Sigma was the ease with which the program met him where he was both professionally and personally.
“I think the program allowed me to be able to have a balanced approach,” he said, ‘[to] be able to get a skill while still taking care of my family. Because for me, that's number one.”
He graduated in just five months, completing the program in August 2023.
Leveraging New Skills in a High-Performance Environment
Today, Utuk works in a leadership role at the computer software company Oracle. He praises the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt program for equipping him to jump in quickly to a new work environment. He’s not only been able to guide a corporate team to deliver on ambitious performance goals but to also become more effective in the process.
“I work in Oracle as a lead consultant. And this [Lean Six Sigma Black Belt] program allowed me to have relevant skills,” explained Utuk. “It allowed me to be able to integrate with high-performance teams, lead a high-performance team, [and] be able to focus on critical areas that allow them to gain efficiencies in business processes.”
He sees the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt program as a win-win for individuals and organizations, yielding returns for leaders, teams, and the bottom line.
“I think the return on investment is having someone that is credentialed that can walk [a team] through solving complex business problems and then be able to direct and lead them in a deliberate fashion for them to focus on what matters the most.”
Servant Leadership and the Military Transition
Through his Lean Six Sigma experience came an unexpected benefit: Utuk discovered a commitment to giving back and paying forward, and this purpose now drives his mission to support veterans transitioning from service. Witnessing fellow veterans and service members struggle as they exited military careers, as he did, he’s become acutely aware of the challenges they face. The military environment often lacks industry-standard certifications, putting veterans at a disadvantage when entering the civilian job market.
“I look at life through the prism of servant leadership. And my number one purpose is to look for ways to help veterans that are transitioning from service,” said Utuk. “I had the chance to lead and serve with the finest that our nation has to offer across the US armed forces. And they are extremely vulnerable when they transition.”
To address this imbalance, Utuk established the Infinite Horizon Project as part of his Lean Six Sigma Black Belt program work. Partnering with VTS to pursue Lean Six Sigma training was an opportunity to open up new career and life pathways for himself. With this in mind, he wanted the training itself to provide a vision for new beginnings for those coming up behind him.
Says Utuk: “...that's why I started the Infinite Horizon project, which opens up endless possibilities for these young men and women and gives them a chance to be able to see themselves being credentialed in very marketable skills. And then, number two, it allows them to get a second purpose, a second chance in life after serving.”
Through the Infinite Horizon Project, Utuk and the VTS team achieved remarkable outcomes, including securing $3.2 million in first-year salaries for supported veterans and helping 33 veterans find stable employment. Additionally, they achieved a 20% process improvement from beginning to end.
The impact of these results has fueled Utuk and provided clarity and purpose.
“I believe that I would be remiss if I were to allow the vision of this campaign to die with me. So what I owe in return is to pay it forward,” he said. “The number one goal—the Northstar for that program—was being able to get veterans into corporate America and stabilize them in suitable job environments.”
Advice for Prospective Lean Six Sigma Students
Utuk highly recommends the UC San Diego Extended Studies Lean Six Sigma Black Belt program as a game changer that gave him tangible skills he could apply directly.
“There are many times that you take a course on a campus and at the end of that course you just have a diploma and put it on the wall just to show you went to school,” he noted. “This was anything but that. What this program allowed me to do was have real-world practical problem-solving skills, understanding how to view the business from the voice of the customer, be able to analyze the critical factors that are required to maintain that customer allegiance. More importantly, be able to lead a high-performance team through a diverse spectrum of different problem sets to deliver results.”
Utuk points out some key considerations for prospective Lean Six Sigma students or those curious about the program.
“If I were to make a recommendation for someone who knows nothing about the UC [San Diego] Lean Six Sigma program, there are two things that I would apply to them,” Utuk noted. “The very first thing is that you are working with people who have a very high competence in designing a program that meets you at any point that you are in your journey. I think that to me, that is something that is uncommon.”
Lean Six Sigma is founded on a practical skill-building premise that entails bringing a real-world project into the school environment, something that could benefit from improvement. With that in mind, Utuk advises leading with your heart.
“The second thing that I would tell them is to take a very hard look at doing something that you're passionate about.”
Conclusion: Dare, Dream, Do
For Eddie Utuk, being part of the Dare, Dream, Do campaign is a culmination of one of his most significant life achievements.
“I truly believe that I am a visible manifestation of what this campaign is supposed to be,” he said. “It’s supposed to take someone who is extraordinarily not designed to be on a platform like this, give them an opportunity to be able to stand, be able to have a belief, to be able to be in a position to pay forward to the people who serve this great nation.”
As Utuk continues to make a difference for himself, his family, his company and team, and the veterans in his wake, his story serves as an inspiring testament to the power of education in transforming lives and the particular impact of programs like the UC San Diego Extended Studies Lean Six Sigma Black Belt program.
“I feel better, I feel stronger. I feel more focused, I feel more empowered,” enthused Utuk. “It's a complete honor for me to be sitting here today.”
Lean Six Sigma Program at UC San Diego Extended Studies
UC San Diego Extended Studies offers a Lean Six Sigma (LSS) program designed to provide students with a set of tools, techniques, and operating principles that represent the best practices in quality and process improvement, resulting in improved performance and reduced costs. LSS can be applied in any industry and can help improve any process.
In this program, students receive coaching and education necessary to apply the appropriate LSS tool(s), understand process requirements, identify constraints, and create flow and stability in all processes.
In a recent Alumni Survey, 95% of graduates confirmed that UC San Diego's Lean Six Sigma training has helped them improve their work performance and/or the efficiency of their team.
To learn more, visit the UC San Diego Extended Studies Lean Six Sigma page.