Veterans Day 2022: What It’s Like Being A Veteran At An Elite MBA Program

Krystal Onyema, MBA Class of 2023

United States Army Captain

What does Veteran’s Day mean to you?

The older I get, the more Veteran’s Day means to me. I honor all my friends, teammates, mentors, and mentees from the military who have served (or are serving) and the sacrifices that they have made. People have different reasons for choosing to serve, but once you’re in the military, you are a service member 24/7—it defines you and your family. You go where the Army (or your respective branch) sends you. It’s great to have a day that recognizes this service and humbling to be counted with so many outstanding former and current service members.

What has been the greatest challenge about the transition to civilian life? 

I will actually be returning to the Active Duty Army to teach undergrad at West Point. In the military, I was used to hierarchical structures and communicating in a certain way that was effective for collaboration and mission accomplishment. In my temporary transition to civilian life, I needed to relearn quickly how to use informal influence to encourage collaboration and essentially learn a different language to communicate effectively. It stretched my communication style and how I view teams. It’s important to understand the priorities of others in order to find common ground, develop solutions, or make plans. Having that understanding helps my communication. I often ask myself, How do I convey my experience or ideas in a way that is easy to understand and edifying to the team?

While I am also getting a formal business education—learning valuation, marketing principles, and how compensation works— I’m receiving frameworks and academic structure to a lot of the leadership skills and intuition I developed through my Army experience. These frameworks will help me share personal stories but identify key points that cadets will be able to use in their own lives. Kellogg is giving me opportunities with a safety net to practice understanding priorities of others while tailoring my communication to the listener so that I can be effective as an instructor and mentor to the cadets in my classes.

Why did you choose Kellogg?

Apart from Kellogg being a top tier school, it fosters an open environment where I feel comfortable engaging with people from entirely different backgrounds. Before choosing Kellogg, I spoke to members of the community of alumni and students—specifically the veterans and members of the Black Management Association. They were humble, willing to help, and excited to share their experiences at school. Through them, I realized how special the culture at Kellogg is. Consequently, that determines the amount of work people are willing to give a certain project, assignment, or even event.

At Kellogg, I’m receiving frameworks and academic structure to a lot of the leadership skills and intuition that I’ve gained from my Army experience.

What value does Kellogg’s Veteran Association provide to you and your fellow classmates? 

The Kellogg Veteran’s Association is a community where I find shared experiences, encouragement, and a judgement-free zone. I see so many of my peers making the transition to civilian life and succeeding. They encourage me to lean into this Kellogg experience and make the most of it while building a network that will be benefit my future. Last year, I learned practical recruiting and networking skills but also was able to share my military experience through an event called “Hear My Story.” Many civilians don’t know that while we all make sacrifices, military service and members are not a monolith. The KVA empowered me to share my military journey’s failures, triumphs, and lessons learned to benefit the Kellogg community.

How has Kellogg prepared you for your post-MBA career goals?

I’ve dreamed of being an undergrad instructor at West Point since my freshman year of college. And now that I have the opportunity, Kellogg is providing me the education and experience for me to do it. I’ve been able to meet, work with, and learn alongside so many great minds. People come with a variety of backgrounds, and I find myself consistently being challenged to consider other points of view. We may all be learning similar frameworks and theories in class, but each person offers a spin on a framework I hadn’t considered. I’ve also been able to learn from interesting and quality professors like Meghan Busse and Brooke Vuckovic with brilliant academic minds and industry experience. These two professors command the classroom, make it a point to know each person’s name, and have a way inspiring students to put in work for greater understanding. They make themselves available and are interested in the success of all who take their class. I’m learning how I want to be as an instructor and what I want my classrooms to look like in the future.

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