McDonough Musings: From Serving Their Country To Leading Businesses Of Tomorrow

Kendall Veasaw, a former Air Force officer who has overseen innovation- and intelligence-related projects prior to business school, says the biggest difference between the military and business school for her was the structure.

“In the Air Force, you’re expected to be at a place at a certain time and there are so many things that are expected of you as a student – it’s kind of like choose your own adventure. You can put as much or as little into it,” Veasaw says.

She cites recruiting as one example of this. “There’s no set path [in recruiting] and I’m so used to hearing ‘you do this, you do this, you do this, and this is the outcome’ but here it’s who do you network with and who do you find that can influence a decision for you, which is so different,” she added.

Veasaw said she was also surprised to realize she was the only female veteran in her class within the full-time MBA program.

“It was definitely a bit discouraging when I realized that and also there are only two Air Force people as well, so it’s like being a minority within a minority,” she said.

The pace at which MBA students and military personnel work is also very different, says Shivam Kashiwala, a former senior operations officer in the Air Force who will transition to a role at ZS Associates post-graduation as a strategy consultant.

“Timeline-wise, the military works very differently and so if somebody says ‘I need something’ that means they need it within the next five or 10 minutes. I thought that carried over in my first consulting project,” says Kashiwala. “They told me they needed this as soon as possible and I asked, do you mean in an hour, but they were like, ‘Oh no, you can get that to me next week’. It was very interesting adjusting to that.”

Also, outside of the military, people exercise the freedom to choose what they want or do not wish to do, he added, whereas in the military, people jump on board for projects critical to missions without hesitation.

“At my summer internship, I realized that many people in the private sector make decisions actively thinking about where they want to lead their career,” Kashiwala said. “In the military, you make decisions on achieving the collective mission and everything else is just a bonus.”

LEAN ON OTHERS

Prospective students in the military who are considering a transition to business school shouldn’t fear, as there is a litany of support awaiting them, all the interviewees for this story said.

“My biggest tip would be to go ahead and reach out to the Veteran Affairs Office or the military education office at the universities that students are applying to, and then go and speak to somebody there,” advises Kashiwala, who added he had a great experience working with the Veterans Office at Georgetown.

Dunn had similar advice that prospective veteran students should reach out to people currently enrolled in schools and act quickly.

“Get your scores, get everything in order and apply for every scholarship. There are a lot of military-based scholarships. I also think you have to have a lot of foresight so start planning early,” Dunn said.

Leaning on mentors and the school’s veterans club, McDonough Military Association, helped Joey Abla in his transition to business school, he says, encouraging transitioning veterans interested in Georgetown to reach out to the club for assistance.

“The MMA members helped me so much; they answered so many questions regarding school, career options, and interview preparation as well as military transition tasks like civilian insurance,” said Abla, who is now the president of the club. He plans on launching a sponsor program this year within the club to help connect new admitted students with current students that have similar backgrounds and interests. The program would focus on transition assistance and guidance on different career options that veterans have, according to Abla.

Not knowing what veterans want to do next is part of the process, says Rich Williamson, a second year MBA veteran who is slated to work for Apple post-graduation. He also recommends continuously reaching out to people and to not be afraid to ask for help, which Williamson points out is one of the “biggest crutches of people in the military as they don’t want to seem weak”.

“You haven’t had the experience or exposure to really know what (business school) is like. Just be confident in your skills that you have and accept feedback about your performance, your abilities, and your interests,” Williamson advises. “Lean on others; lean on the experience of others, not just yourself.”

Christine Kim (McDonough ’22) is a former Reuters correspondent and communications specialist from Seoul, South Korea. As a journalist, Christine covered issues like North Korea, global financial markets, and central bank rates. She also handled global communications for Samsung Electronics prior to business school and plans to focus on strategy and crisis management post-graduation. In this monthly column, Christine will highlight lesser heard voices and diverse experiences at Georgetown’s MBA program. 

 

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