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MBA Voices
MBA Voices
On Memorial Day 2010, LTC Jamie Leonard, the most senior female U.S. military officer to be killed in combat, penned a compelling piece for her local paper titled “A soldier’s view on Memorial Day.” Specifically, Jamie wrote, “Take measure of what you have done for your country and ask yourself if you could do more.” With Jamie in mind, I’ve learned that successes and failures are not measures of a life well-lived. Instead, I’ve learned that a legacy is defined by the ways in which we share our gifts with the world. [...]
Before coming to HBS I was a submarine officer in the US Navy. Submarines were my entire life. They consumed all my working hours and much of my social life too, since almost all my friends were fellow submariners. Nevertheless, it was an incredible experience. I learned so much about leadership, service, and sacrifice. Through the adversity, I made some lifelong friendships. But there was something that the Navy lacked: a community for LGBTQ+ individuals. There were no other “out” individuals on my all-male submarine of 120 sailors. I never even knew that I needed such a community until I got to HBS and became a part of PRIDE. It has changed my perspective on everything. It’s so important to be a part of a community that fully understands what it means for me to be gay. [...]
Although I did not know it at the time, my path to business school began on March 1, 1992. It was my ninth birthday, and I was enjoying the liberty that came with growing up on a farm on the outskirts of a small mining community in Ohio: riding my all-terrain vehicle (ATV) through muddy fields and plunging in and out of puddles of melted snow. My future career was far from my mind, but even at that young age, I was contemplating the world and my place in it. In Appalachia, opportunity ebbs and flows with the demand for steel and coal. And in 1992, many of the factories that had provided the community’s lifeblood sat dormant along the banks of the Ohio River. Consumed by poverty, the soft bigotry of low expectations had crept into the social construct, sentencing families in underserved communities like mine to a lifetime of waiting for steel and coal’s resurgence. Through rust-colored lenses, our place in the world appeared immutable. [...]
I have some good news and some bad news.
First, the bad news: Graduate School might not be “free” after all. I know, this smacks in the face of everything I was told when I was a Cadet and Junior Officer. Unless you are participating in GrADSO or PB-GSIP for the Army, other cool programs our sister services have, or fulfilling a pre-assignment requirement to teach at one of the Service Academies or to be a strategist, my advice is to brace yourself for some loans. This is not unique to Harvard, though. Remember that VA allowable tuition and fees are a subset of the tuition and fees actually charged.
Now the good news: After going through the full-time MBA program at HBS (even with the Coronavirus disruption and finishing my last quarter on-line), I don’t think I could put a price on the education and experiences I received. [...]
As Veterans day approaches each year, I like to take time to reflect on my service, how it has changed my life’s trajectory and shaped who I have become. Serving in the military focused my purpose around protecting others: protecting my community after 9/11, protecting my brothers and sisters as we ventured into combat, protecting my fellow veterans as we transitioned back into a difficult world. So it was no surprise to me that as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, I found myself once again seeking to safeguard others, as the Deputy Director of Response Operations for the State of New York. [...]
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The views and opinions expressed in the MBA Voices blog are those of the authors.
Any political views shared by students are their own; HBS does not endorse a
particular party or candidate.