In 2021 I was an Infantry Company XO faced with the career decision that all officers go through. Should I attend Captain’s Career Course (CCC) and become a Company Commander, drop a packet to attend Special Forces selection, or turn in my release from active duty (REFRAD) and transition out of the military? I decided to attend Special Forces Assessment and Selection and was given a report date, until two weeks before, I was in an accident that changed my life forever.
I was on leave in Colorado with my then girlfriend, snowboarding. Skiing and snowboarding are my favorite winter activities and have been since I was four. I crashed doing something that I have done hundreds of times. The result of that accident was a broken T6-T11, broken L2-L3, broken left hip, dislocated right hip, fractured right femur in two places, and a burst fracture of my C7 vertebrae that left me partially paralyzed and without the use of my hands. I was life-flighted to a level 1 trauma center where I was in the ICU receiving two extensive spinal surgeries and fusions that eventually gave me the use of my hands back. Finally, I had my femur repaired and after a month in the hospital and three major surgeries, I was back in Nashville to begin the long road to recovery.
I knew that getting back to where I was physically would take months if not years, and that part of the process, to me, was very black and white. I would listen to what the doctors said and through hard work and the help of my family I would make a full recovery, there was never a doubt in my mind. The hardest part for me was dealing with the professional embarrassment. It is still something that I struggle with today. I made a dumb split-second decision that impacted my family, my soldiers, and my unit in a negative way. For the first time in my life, I felt like a burden on others with a derailed career and didn’t know what my future looked like. When I reflect on that time now, I am not too proud to say that I dealt with periods of depression.
Thankfully I had an incredible support system. My girlfriend put her life on hold for five months bathing me, feeding me, and pushing me around in a wheelchair. As soon as I was cleared by the doctors to walk, I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. My commanders also took great care of me, they transferred me to the Soldier Recovery Unit (SRU) at Ft. Campbell where I was able to receive all the care I needed. The SRU helped me get healthy and allowed me to plan my next steps. Life started to turn around, and my future success was up to me to create.
I started exploring what life would look like outside of the military. I knew that wherever I went next, I needed to be a part of a strong community of hard-working and driven individuals. I was interested in going back to school to earn my MBA but was worried about being able to afford it. Living in Nashville at the time, I looked into Vanderbilt’s Owen School of Business. I was really impressed with the program and loved its small class size and the strong sense of community. It was also a Yellow Ribbon school, which meant that Vanderbilt would cover the remaining fees the GI bill didn’t. I thought it was a long shot because of my undergrad GPA and I didn’t believe that I had the quantitative skills to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with my future classmates.
I dedicated my free time to studying for the standardized testing required to get in because I knew that I wanted to be a part of the Owen community. I was also able to leverage veterans and students that were currently in the program and received an outpouring of support. They helped me storyboard my five years of military experience and craft a strong resume and admissions essays. I was also connected with Josh Martin and Wade Patten, who told me about the Bass Military Scholars Program. It was a scholarship given to veteran students as a stipend to help cover any expenses they might incur throughout the school year. With all the benefits veterans are eligible to receive at Vanderbilt, I knew that I would be able to afford my MBA.
Thanks to all the support I received from my family, Owen students, and veterans, I was able to gain acceptance to Vanderbilt’s Owen School of Management, and the Bass Military Scholars program. My career and life are back on track thanks to the generosity of so many people. I recently finished my first year at Owen and interned as an MBA Summer Consultant with a strategy consulting firm in Dallas. If you had told me 18 months ago that I would end up where I am today, I would have thought you were a liar. I was able to take small steps in the right direction thanks to the help and guidance of so many people. Getting out of the military can be a scary thing. There are thousands of different directions and jobs you can take, but aligning your passions and interests will help you build another fulfilling career path. When you are thinking of transitioning from the military, leverage the veterans in the industries or roles you are interested in, and ask for 15 minutes to talk. You will be surprised at what you will learn, who you can be connected with, and the willingness of others to make your transition as successful as possible. People want to help, never be too proud to ask for it .