Get To Know Brett: Kelley Direct Student, Family Man, And Former Military Major

Hi, everyone! My name is Brett and I’ll be sharing my journey through the Indiana University Kelley Direct Online MBA Program with you for the next year. To start, I’d like to tell you a little about myself.

I’m a Major in the United States Army at 10th Special Forces Group and have been living in Colorado for the past five years. Serving as a Green Beret has been a great privilege and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I’ve been able to travel the world and work with some of the best and brightest from many different countries and cultures. However, after 10 years of military service (and the birth of my son), I decided it might be time to leave the military to spend more time at home and focus on my family. I don’t know that I’ll ever find another career as challenging, exciting, and rewarding as my time in Special Forces, but I’m certainly going to try.

My decision to leave military service was also the primary factor in my decision to pursue an MBA from Indiana University. While I gained a lot of experience leading people in some very complex situations, I didn’t really have any business experience to speak of. An MBA is helping to fill in some of those gaps and hopefully assist me as I pursue a new career in the private sector. I began the program about one year ago and already learned a great deal that I was able to apply immediately at my work. I look forward to the final year of the program and being able to put my knowledge to work.

In my free time, I love to spend time with my wife, Mandy, and my son, Colton. Unfortunately, there was a point when I was deployed for more of my son’s life than I was home. So, I’ve been taking advantage of the time that I have. We love spending time outside, and living in Colorado provides us with a lot of unique opportunities that you can’t find in many other places. My wife and I both enjoy skiing, and I was even a certified ski instructor in my unit. We’re definitely looking forward to getting a few more days on the slopes before the season ends. I also enjoy mountain biking, although Mandy prefers the on-road variety (probably due to me getting more than a couple of injuries while riding). Lastly, I’d consider myself a bit of a gearhead and enjoy riding, driving, or working on pretty much anything with wheels. I have several motorcycles, a couple in various states of repair, and a Jeep that I’ve made a couple of modifications to. I haven’t had much time for off-roading these days, which is a real crime living in Colorado, but I hope to change that in the future.

I wouldn’t say sharing a lot of information about myself is something I’m used to, partly because of my personality and partly from my occupation. Hopefully, sharing my experiences during my career transition and my progression through the Kelley Direct Online MBA Program will give people something they can use in their own lives, especially other service members. I look forward to taking you all on this journey with me.

© Copyright 2026 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE.