Every summer vacation, my husband, Paul, and I take a hard look at what we term our “five-year plan.” It is a time to review what we have saved for retirement and for our two college-bound teenagers, what major home improvement project we should tackle, and whether the strategic plan we developed for our 10-year-old trucking company is still relevant.

This effort, though difficult at times, gives us a keen sense of how far we have come in the six years we have been married. It shows if we are still doing what we set out to do, and it feels great when we can cross accomplishments off the list.

More importantly, this process stimulates creative and thoughtful discussion and action if we find ourselves slightly off our chosen path, or embracing an exciting new challenge. Having the flexibility and team commitment to make any mid-course adjustment that arises reduces our stress and frees us up to think about the future in a positive way.

The creation and launch of NYIT’s 2030 initiative reminds me of when Paul and I developed our first five-year plan. It was not easy for us, but it was a necessary effort if we wanted to feel good about our future. Without a clear understanding of where we were and what we hoped to accomplish, we would never have been able to create the road map to get us there.

For every member of the NYIT family, from current students to alumni, to faculty and staff members, the new initiative must seem like a daunting task to accomplish over these next 25 years, and you’re probably wondering how you fit into the overall plan. I don’t have all the answers, but what I can tell you is that I am glad we are on this journey together.

As an active communications arts graduate with a deep sense of pride in what NYIT means to me, I see this plan as a necessary part of running the “business” of higher education. I have also learned that in any successful venture, you can’t possibly be all things to all people.

Thinking global and acting locally will give NYIT an advantage. Our economy is a global one and thanks to technology and the power of communication, the barriers to building relationships are virtually gone. NYIT’s true sign of excellence is in its ability to refine itself with this thinking in mind, by focusing on such programs as global and online education, architecture, communications, engineering and computing sciences, business, and medicine. The college must offer the right programs in the right places to those who wish to quench their never-ending thirst for excellence in learning and career development. Why should a student go anywhere else?

Yes, there will be growing pains, and change is not always easy, but the ability for NYIT to successfully evolve over the next quarter century will mean the difference between being “world-class” and being “out-classed” by lesser competitors.

Dianne Baumert-Moyik (M.A. ’92) is manager of communications and civic affairs for Northrop Grumman Corporation Airborne Early Warning and Electronic Warfare Systems in Bethpage, N.Y. She is the 2006 recipient of the NYIT Alumni Federation Kaufman Volunteerism Award for her work with various charities.