Savvy Advice From Military MBAs In The Class of 2015

Jacob Call / UCLA (Anderson)

A former Navy Seal, Call’s decision to go to business school was heavily influenced by the death of his best friend in combat. “From serving on the front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan to losing some of my closest friends in combat, I have gained a profound appreciation for the fragility of life and the preciousness of time,” he says. The 34-year-old Call made the best use of his time at UCLA’s Anderson School and will graduate from UCLA. Armed with an MBA, he will have successfully made the transition to a new life, working at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. as an investment banking associate.

Blair Merlino / Boston University (Questrom)

A psychological operations specialist who saw combat duty in the U.S. Army’s Special Ops group, the 30-year-old Merlino boasted a strategic mindset that always elevated classroom discussions. “Blair’s maturity, professionalism, and level-headed approach made him a go-to person to get a pulse of the student body,” says BU Associate Dean J.P. Matychak. Besides his parents, Merlino gives credit for his success to his military commanders and supervisors who expected him to creatively solve complex problems, and challenged him to act confidently, swiftly, and impact fully. Merlino will be joining Deloitte Consulting after graduation as a senior consultant in the firm’s Federal Practice for Strategy and Operations.

Tim O’Neil / University of Minnesota (Carlson)

A former Marine Corps infantry officer, the 32-year-old O’Neil epitomizes dedication. Commuting three hours to Minneapolis daily while raising two young children, he is known around campus as a student who leads by example and tackles the hard challenges. No wonder his newly founded company, which makes packs, bags and accessories. is called Fidelis (“faithful”). During his seven years as a Marine, he was deployed twice, lived on both coasts, and in his last billet was responsible for helping run the Marine Corps’ recruiting effort in the upper Midwest. Post graduation, O’Neil plans to continue to grow and develop Fidelis after he and his business partner successfully executed a Kickstarter campaign.

Derek Rey / University of Virginia (Darden)

A former infantry officer in the U.S. Marines, 31-year-old Derek Rey epitomizes the transformative nature of graduate business education. It was on a ship in the Pacific Ocean in the winter of 2012, one four overseas deployments, that he thought deeply about his future and came to conclude that an MBA was in the cards.  He used his time at UVA’s business school to the max, becoming the portfolio manager for Darden Capital Management (the program’s student-run investment management organization). Rey nicely leveraged that experience and a summer internship with Barclays to gain a full-time gig as an investment banking associate with Barclays after graduation.

Scott Schmidt / University of Iowa (Tippie)

An active duty U.S. Army Major and Apache helicopter pilot who dreams of becoming an entrepreneur, Schmidt earned his class’ unadulterated respect at Iowa’s Tippie School with his ability to manage time and gracefully handle the difficulties he faced. Midway through his first semester, Scott’s fourth child, a son, was born. All this after doing five tours overseas, including three in Iraq where he was able to fly missions with his brother, also a U.S. Army pilot. It’s no surprise that the 38-year-old expertly mastered the juggling act associated with being a full-time student. He will return to active duty, working closely with Lockheed Martin on a new radar program it is building for the Army.

Bering Tsang / Duke University (Fuqua)

A former U.S. Marine Corps Captain, 32-year-old Tsang left military service after an eight-year stint for business school to become “an impactful citizen on another path in life.” He clearly used his MBA experience to put him on an entirely new path. After a summer internship with Goldman Sachs in New York, Tsang will join the prestigious firm as an associate in its investment banking division. He has set an ambitious objective for himself at Goldman: “My goal is to connect my previous experiences as a military officer and the lessons I learned in business school to make an impact in a socially conscience, ethical, and compassionate way through leadership at work and beyond.”

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