Janay Daniel
New heights: Triple Eagle Janay Daniel blends degrees for new role with leading global food supplier
When Janay Daniel (’17, ’19, ’22) walked across the stage at Paulson Stadium on May 10 it was her third graduation in the “Prettiest Little Stadium in America.” She’s using all three degrees to her advantage as she pivots her managerial role with a global food supplier.
After earning a degree from Georgia Southern University in 2017 with a bachelor’s in mathematics, Daniel taught in the classroom for a year, but decided to return to the University and work while completing a bachelor’s in Spanish. Back in Statesboro, she was offered a position at Crider Foods, a commercial canning company located in Stillmore, Georgia, and viewed it as an opportunity to blend her skill sets.
“I looked at this as a new way to use my mathematics and Spanish degrees and took a position as the company’s international customer service representative,” explained Daniel.
Yet, her passion for research and statistics remained.
“I always wanted to get my master’s degree,” she said. “But I wanted a degree with more of a research focus, something more applicable that I could use the tools taught in the program beyond theory.”
The College of Education introduced the master’s in evaluation, assessment, research and learning in 2018, and Daniel said it was just the degree she was looking for.
“I told my husband, ‘here we go again,’” she laughed. “I am going back to school!”
The fully online master’s program allowed Daniel to continue her work at Crider Foods while completing her coursework.
“My supervisor has been very supportive of me completing this program and was interested to see how Crider could potentially use the knowledge I was gaining to assist in optimizing operations and efficiency,” said Daniel.
Since being enrolled in the program, Daniel also accepted a new position in the company, as the product services manager, where she ensures that the production process, from sales team logistics to customer delivery, is seamless.
“Everything I have learned in the M.Ed. Evaluation, Assessment, Research and Learning program, I have been able to apply it to my work and life,’ she said. “I truly enjoyed this degree, from learning statistical software to breaking down programs and being able to have a formal process to evaluate the success of the system.”
Daniel’s biggest takeaway is her updated viewpoint, and growth through the degree program.
“I have been introduced to new perspectives,” she explained. “The way I look at things has changed because I am considering the investigative aspects and angles of programs, systems and softwares.
“This program helped me realize that while I might not want to be a teacher in the classroom, there are many ways in which we teach every day in various careers.”