Elisabeth Martin
M.A. Whole Systems Design, 2007
 When former Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Alan Mulally coined the term "Working Together" at the start of the Boeing 777 project, Elisabeth Martin was an aerospace engineer who had an epiphany of sorts.
"I was just beginning to realize that a large part of our success as an airplane engineering and assembly company is our ability to work together, but that we often miss this aspect of the work we do as engineers. My years immersed in the engineering field had not provided me with the tools to describe or intentionally design the social aspects of my work," Martin says.
Then she went to an Antioch open house.
"I felt as though I had found a place where I could learn to put words to the experiences and ideas that were beginning to form through my work experiences," she describes.
Martin says she had several mentors among the Antioch faculty, each of whom was a source of great inspiration in different ways.
"In particular, Shana Hormann opened up a world of validating the personal experience for me which played a great part in building my own confidence as a change agent.
"Barbara Spraker and I share a common affinity for a particular body of work which she allowed me to introduce into her coursework as a TA.
"Betsy Geist provided me the opportunity to apply my interest in design into other modes, such as design of space," Martin notes, adding, "They all also challenged me to do my own best work, which was at the core of my own personal journey as my interest was in how to design systems that allow all of us to do our best work, and the immense benefits that can be harvested from such a well designed system."
Independent study offered great opportunities for her to explore areas of interest not in the curriculum. "In small doses, the opportunity to design and implement your own curriculum gives you a chance to practice taking the steps required for implementing change in the world. I knew I'd be different at the end of an independent study, but I wasn't sure how I would be different," she says.
When she recommends Antioch she says a lot depends on the individual and what he or she wants to learn.
"I start by telling them my experiences have made me much more effective in my work. Then I go from there, depending on their interests," she says.
She was fortunate that Boeing covered costs for her Antioch master's degree in whole systems design. But there's no doubt about the value this Boeing manager derives from her Antioch education.
"I am able to frame and design projects in a way that allows others to see what I see and either get on board or challenge my vision; in which case, we are able to collaborate for a course correction and hop on together!"
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