Anthony Wnuk

University of Washington, Foster School of Business

“I’m an outdoorsy Navy vet who’s passionate about sustainability and loves to read and travel.”

Hometown: North Branford, CT

Fun Fact About Yourself:  I learned to SCUBA dive when I was 11.

Undergraduate School and Major:  RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)- BS, Electronic Media, Arts and Communication; U.S. Naval War College- MA, Defense and Strategic Studies

Most Recent Employer and Job Title:  U.S. Navy- Naval Aviator

What makes Seattle such a great place to earn an MBA?  Seattle is unique in that it is surrounded by immense natural beauty in the form of mountains, wilderness, national parks. and many miles of coastline. At the same time, it offers all the amenities, culture, and top employers of a big city. For me, it’s the perfect place to focus on studying and networking without ever getting bored.

Aside from your location and classmates, what was the key part of Washington Foster’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The focus on experiential learning via applied strategy projects was very important to me, especially since I don’t have a background in business. I really enjoy strategic thinking and I think participating in one of these projects will be a perfect way for me to gain hard business skills and practice them in a real-world environment. The importance Foster placed in this hands-on learning method gave me more confidence in my ability to make such a large career pivot.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Washington Foster? I am most looking forward to participating in a Global Consulting Project. Globalization, international economic activity and working across borders and cultures to solve problems are fascinating to me and are important to improving societies around the world. I hope that international opportunities like this, which were not possible last year, will become available once again. I am excited to experience new cultures and build positive relationships while helping to tackle challenging problems abroad.

Washington Foster operates off a philosophy of We>Me. Give us an example of how you’ve incorporated that approach in your career? In the Navy, we’re instilled with the understanding that we should prioritize the ship, our shipmates, and ourselves in that order. There is a powerful feeling of motivation in knowing that the mission you’re working towards is more important than yourself. However, this alone isn’t necessarily always sufficient and can lead to burnout. I’ve always tried to make sure I’m paying attention to the needs of individuals and encouraging an open an honest flow of communication in the workplace while still making sure the importance of the mission is clear. You can’t accomplish the mission successfully, or sustainably over time, without making sure the people that are working toward that common goal are being taken care of.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:  The most significant accomplishment in my career was becoming a Helicopter Aircraft Commander. Earning this qualification took years of training, evaluation, and earning the trust of my commanding officer to manage the responsibility of completing a variety of missions and successfully return from each flight with my crew, passengers and helicopter safe.

How did COVID-19 change your perspective on your career and your life in general?  My personal experience with COVID-19 was unique in some ways. In others, it mirrored what far too many other people went through. I lost my mother to COVID in April 2020. Like so many people around the world, I was deprived of the normal family gatherings and rituals that are essential to the mourning process. Then, I immediately left on a ship on a deployment scheduled for 7 months which lasted 11. Above all, my COVID experience highlighted the importance of time spent with family. It reinforced my decision to leave the military and cultivate a rewarding but stable career built around a cornerstone of being present with my family and active in my community.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation? I was lucky to have many rewarding and challenging experiences and the opportunity to develop myself as a leader over the course of a decade spent as an officer and helicopter pilot in the Navy. However, I was ready to transition into the civilian world for the next chapter of my life. I decided an MBA was the best way for me to make a successful major career change and gain the foundation of education and professional skills necessary to achieve my long-term goals. I plan to start off in management consulting after graduation, and then I hope to find a role in operations management with a focus on sustainability.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Tuck, Yale SOM.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Washington Foster’s MBA program? Research Foster’s academic program, get a feel for its values, read the Foster blog, talk to current students, and identify the ways in which the school’s culture and values align with your own. Try to highlight these factors and the ways that your presence at Foster will be unique and beneficial as you complete the application and answer the essay questions.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE MBA CLASS OF 2023: PACESETTERS WITH A PURPOSE