William Patrick Culliton

Washington University, Olin Business School in St. Louis

“Disciplined, resilient, and team-oriented. Competitive in everything I do and shaped by my military experience.”

Hometown: Minneapolis, MN

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’m a sports enthusiast and played collegiate basketball at Army.

Undergraduate School and Major: United States Military Academy at West Point. Major: Organizational Psychology and Leadership.

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: U.S. Army. Field Artillery Officer

What has been your favorite part of St. Lous so far? What makes St. Louis such a great place to earn an MBA? I moved here from Austin, TX, and I was worried at first because I left a booming area. Once I got here, however, I realized how special St. Louis is—it offers a unique blend of big city resources with a supportive, tight-knit community, which makes it an ideal location for someone trying to advance their professional growth in an MBA program. My favorite part of St. Louis so far has to be the variety of parks in and around the city. For example, Forest Park is a great place to run, catch a concert, or go to one of the best zoos in the country. My three-year-old Vizsla, Flip, is also a big fan of all the parks!

Aside from the global immersion, what was the key part of Washington Olin’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The key part of Olin’s curriculum that led me to choose the program was the business school’s emphasis on teamwork. Within the first week of being on campus, the graduate office assigns every student a “core team” in which they will collaborate with for the majority of assignments throughout the first semester. Students do not get to pick their teams, which pushes everyone to step out of their comfort zone and gain a new perspective.

This emphasis on teamwork played a crucial role for me when looking for an MBA program because everything I did in the military and everything I will continue to do in the business world will be centered around people and team effectiveness. Strong organizations do not thrive because of their products or services—they thrive because of their people. WashU’s commitment to teamwork and collaboration teaches all of us how to navigate the complexities of interpersonal differences, ultimately shaping us into stronger leaders.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Washington Olin? The Military & Veterans Services Office and the Olin Veterans Association have both been instrumental in my transition out of the Army and back into an academic environment. They host happy hours, dinners, and we even got to go to a Cardinals game earlier this fall.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment in my career is my time spent as a Platoon Leader in the Army. It is not the job that I view as an accomplishment, but rather the lessons learned and skills gained throughout my time in this role. Leading a 42-person team taught me all about accountability, adaptability, and resilience, and I learned how to lead authentically even in incredibly difficult circumstances. These lessons and skills are things that I will carry with me the rest of my life.

Describe your biggest achievement in the MBA program so far: I had never taken any sort of accounting class before coming to WashU, and I was nervous that my lack of experience would hold me back. However, with the help of great professors like Professor Tom Fields and through constant collaboration with my fellow classmates, I was able to quickly grasp all the concepts in class and even apply them to real world scenarios during our trip to Barcelona. That is part of what makes this program so special—we get hands on, global experience with the curriculum.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far? My best memory as an MBA so far is the late-night dinners in Barcelona with my classmates. Our professors and administrators urged us to immerse ourselves in the Spanish culture, and my friends and I achieved that through our 9 pm, two-and-a-half hour dinners. We laughed, shared personal experiences, and talked about our career aspirations—all memories that I will never forget.

DON’T MISS: MEET WASHINGTON OLIN’S MBA CLASS OF 2026