Eric Bristow saw his career path early on as a systems engineering major at UVA. Graduating in 1999, he now has 20 years of experience as a consultant, 17 of them at Deloitte Consulting LLP. “I really enjoyed the problem-solving case study approach that we learned in the systems engineering program. It was applied instead of theoretical. We analyzed real problems. We weren't just learning the technology and science, our professors taught us to communicate what it means,†Bristow said. He particularly recalled studying the space shuttle Challenger tragedy and the role communication played. Those case studies and the influence of professors such asDonald E. Brown,James W. Lark IIIand emeritus professorK. Preston White Jr.led Bristow to his career. “They showed us how consultants use the engineering discipline to solve problems,†he said.