From Service to Students
UCLA Anderson is proud to count among its student body more than 120 active military and veterans, who bring a sense of mission, organization and commitment to their education — and to the business world after graduation. Here are just a few of our students and their diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Eddie Zeng (’22)
U.S. Navy, Lieutenant, Nuclear Submarine Officer, 7 years of service
Clubs & Associations: Association of Veterans at Anderson, Technology Business Association, Energy Management Group, Strategy & Operations Management Association, Outdoor Adventure Club
Professional & Career Interests: Technology, Cleantech
Drew J. Gordon (EMBA ’22)
U.S. Army, Captain, Military Intelligence Officer, 2010 – 2019
Clubs & Associations: Association of Veterans at Anderson, Marketing Association, Innovation and Design at Anderson (IDeA), Net Impact
Professional & Career Interests: Having settled in the Pacific Northwest, I intend to return to a career in marketing and marketing analytics at one of our many top-tier outdoor sporting goods manufacturers or retailers.
Marc Hodel (’21)
U.S. Army, Captain, 8 years of service
Clubs & Associations: Outdoor Adventure Club (Co-President), Association of Veterans at Anderson (VP of Admissions and Finance), Technology Business Association/AnderTech, Challenge for Charity
Professional & Career Interests: I interned at the Wonderful Company’s strategy group in summer 2020 and plan to return upon graduation.
Dr. Scott C. Schmidt (EMBA ’22)
U.S. Air Force, Captain, 5 years of service
Clubs & Associations: Association of Veterans at Anderson, Healthcare Business Association, John Anderson Golf Club
Professional & Career Interests: Health Care, Entrepreneurship
Alice Hong (FEMBA ’22)
U.S. Navy, Lieutenant, 7 years of service
Clubs & Associations: Anderson Veterans Association, FEMBAssadors
Professional & Career Interests: Management Consulting
Michael Oram (FEMBA ’22)
U.S. Navy, Lieutenant, 6 years of service
Clubs & Associations: Sports Business Association, Out@Anderson
Professional & Career Interests: Management Consulting, Sports Analytics
Todd Bessinger, M.D., Ph.D. (EMBA ’21)
U.S. Army, Major, 15 years of service
Professional & Career Interests: Dermatology, Tropical Medicine
Peterson Dela Cruz (MBA '21)
United States Air Force (2010-2018), Captain, Civil Engineer Officer
Clubs & Associations: Anderson Real Estate Association, Net Impact, Anderson Tech Business Association
Professional & Career Interests: Sustainability, Technology, Real Estate, Management Consulting
Jeff Gum (FEMBA ’21)
U.S. Navy SEAL, Team Five, SO1/E6, 10 years of service
Clubs & Associations: Anderson Veterans Association (Director of FEMBA), Entrepreneurs Association
Professional and Career Interests: Founder, Sunga Life; Public Speaker
Fernando Hernani (EMBA ’21)
U.S. Navy, Chief Navy Diver (E-7), 20 years of service (retired September 2019)
Clubs&Associations: Anderson Veterans Association, Anderson Latino Management AssociationProfessional & Career Interests: Continue work in training and development in the civilian sector, preferably in the tech industry
Kevin Holland (FEMBA ’21)
U.S. Navy, Lieutenant, 2012–present
Professional & Career Interests: Management Consulting, Social Impact
Cody Larsen (MBA '21)
US Air Force, 4 years, Captain
Clubs & Associations: Investment Finance Association, Anderson Real Estate Association, Anderson Veterans Association, Anderson Christian Fellowship
Professional & Career Interests: Investment Banking
Paul G. Lee (EMBA ’21)
U.S. Marine Corps, Staff Sergeant (Counterintelligence/Human Intelligence Specialist), 2001–2005, 2009–2013
Club & Associations: Anderson Veterans Association
Professional & Career Interests: Finance, Investment Management
Lewis Martin (EMBA ’21)
U.S. Marine Corps, Captain, 8 years of service
Clubs & Associations: Anderson Veterans Association
Professional & Career Interests: Management Consulting, Investment Banking, Private Equity
Jake Murphy (MBA ’21)
U.S. Marine Corps, Captain, 5 years of service
Clubs & Associations: Investment Finance Association, Entrepreneur Association, Energy Management Group, Board Fellow, Riordan Mentor, Junior Achievement Instructor
Professional & Career Interests: Leverage Anderson education and operations experience as a military and civilian engineering manager; identify and cultivate value in companies through finance and investment; eventually transition into corporate leadership, building companies that make life better for the average person
Quentin Yip (MBA ’21)
U.S. Air Force, Captain, 2010–16
Clubs & Associations: Management Consulting Association, AnderTech, Anderson Veterans Association, Basketball, Soccer, Outdoor Adventure Club, Asian Management Student Association
Professional & Career Interests: Strategy Consulting
Spotlight on Career Transitions
From the Blog
Engineering His Transition
U.S. Air Force pilot Nathan Gholston (’23) homes in on the aerospace sector
Listen for Inspiration
Four great voices in the FEMBA Class of 2022 chimed in to describe how UCLA Anderson is bridging their world-class military training with new corporate chapters in their careers. Austin Carroll Keeley, a U.S. Marine Corps. infantry officer who describes military service as public service, invited U.S. Navy Lieutenant Stacey Mercado (B.A. ’12), U.S. Coast Guard veteran Bob DeLullo and U.S. Air Force Captain Jamie Long to talk about where they started life, what their service has entailed and what’s next as they pursue their degrees.
High-achieving UCLA Anderson students and alumni across industries rely on their military training and business acumen
Balancing Everything
Class of 2020 graduate and John Wooden Global Leadership Fellow Rob Busalacchi is an investment banking associate at Barclays. He looks back on his experience balancing priorities while he went through the FEMBA program as a former U.S. Marine. Featuring: Rob Busalacchi (’20), Investment Banking Associate, Barclays
From Marine to Movie Maker
Why does a U.S. Marine Corps veteran earn an MBA from UCLA Anderson? And what can his military training teach the rest of us about dealing with COVID-19? Joel Searls reflects on these topics as well as his decision to reinvent himself as an associate producer of a feature-length Hollywood movie, Running with the Devil (2019), starring Nicholas Cage and Laurence Fishburne. Featuring: Joel Searls (’17), Investment Banking Associate, McCafferty & Company
Successful Civilian Careers
Juan Rose (’13) and Derek Herrera (’15) met at the United States Naval Academy. They both joined the U.S. Marine Corps and pursued their executive MBAs at Anderson in succession. The friends were both John Wooden Global Leadership Fellows and have excelled professionally since graduating.
Recent Stories about Veterans
podcast
Success for a UCLA Public-Private Partnership in South L.A.
USMC veteran Dr. John Fisher (MBA/M.D. ’09) on health, leadership and equity
Actor and Bruin Tom Skerritt Served in the U.S. Air Force
Joel Searls (’17) reports for We Are the Mighty
The Ideal Conduit to Careers in Tech
Bryce Luken (’14), Mike Benedosso (’14) and Andrew Lee (’16) acquired skills to shift from military to civilian careers
Five Questions With
Andrew Chan (B.S. ’05, ’13)
Manager, Deloitte Digital
Major, U.S. Army
Andrew Chan (B.S. ’05, ’13)
Manager, Deloitte Digital
Major, U.S. Army
Why did you decide to get an MBA?
Getting an MBA was a part of my plan to transition from active military service to pursue a career aligned with technology. I graduated from UCLA with a degree in mechanical engineering, was stationed in Korea and deployed to Iraq. At Anderson, I was able to combine my technology undergraduate training with my military leadership and management experience, while gaining an underlying business foundation.
What is the most important skill we should be teaching our students today?
Being part of the Deloitte Digital team has allowed me to see how pervasive the digital world is. More than ever, students should be acutely aware that their name will be their brand, especially in the business world. Personal brand management and the management of your professional brand as you engage with diverse audiences worldwide is a key skill Anderson should be teaching today.
What three things did you learn at Anderson that have been most helpful to you in your career?
- How to identify my career goals and achieve them through structured and formalized networking
- A solid understanding of business fundamentals, including finance, marketing and operations
- The importance of brand management as we embarked on our careers
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever gotten?
Never stop learning. I see it every day as the digital world evolves and inspires new possibilities. Continuing education is essential in challenging your point of view and expanding your mind. I grow through industry updates, Twitter and even courses like the Command and General Staff course that the military provides. Always seek to learn and grow through continuing education.
How did your experience as a veteran help you in your journey at UCLA Anderson?
In the army I had the opportunity to lead more than 200 troops. I learned that when time is limited, it’s better to move forward with 80 percent of the information than to wait for all of it and possibly miss critical deadlines. That lesson directly translated to success in group projects and presentations. Being in the military gave me the confidence to take action. That was definitely helpful when working through case studies and group leadership opportunities.
Evan Milnor ('17)
Co-Founder & COO, Office Bites
Captain, U.S. Marine Corps
Evan Milnor (’17)
Co-Founder & COO, Office Bites
Captain, U.S. Marine Corps
Why did you decide to get an MBA?
My undergraduate and military experience provided me with a global perspective and a thorough understanding of our government, but I had always had entrepreneurial ambitions that I was eager to pursue. When evaluating business schools, I knew I wanted an environment that could prepare me for starting a business. UCLA Anderson was the perfect fit, with its collaborative environment and its entrepreneurial focus. The BCO program was also a key attraction, as it allowed me to develop my business concept during my student experience.
What is the most important class/topic/skill that we should be teaching our students today?
UCLA Anderson provides students with entrepreneurial essentials like building a business plan and understanding the start-up journey. A class that would be a great addition to this mix would be entrepreneurial finance, where students learn about start-up accounting and how to build financial models and projections that resonate with the VC community.
Whom do you admire most in the business world today, and why?
Peter Diamandis, the founder and chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, is the business person I admire most. He had a clear vision and took an enormous leap of faith in launching the first prize competition without having a prior commitment for the $10-million prize. He used his passion and creativity to inspire the world to accelerate the commercial space industry, and proceeded to launch additional prizes across industries and global challenges.
What are you reading right now?
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. This is really a book about the psychology of marketing, and it delves into why some ideas become “sticky.” It’s a great business tool, revealing how you can leverage psychology principles to make marketing more effective.
Tell us how your experience as a veteran helped you in your journey at UCLA Anderson.
My military experience provided me with the understanding of the importance of systems, structure and discipline. It taught me to be deliberate and to get the most out of each day. That really came in handy, especially in my first year at Anderson! My experience also gave me perspective, really helping to put the artificial stressors of homework assignments, exams and public speaking in check. This certainly helped me stay in balance during my MBA experience.
Bo Cross ('16)
Operations Lead, MedArrive
Lieutenant Junior Grade, U.S. Navy
Bo Cross (’16)
Operations Lead, MedArrive
Former Lieutenant Junior Grade, U.S. Navy, with operations expertise in a range of fields.
What’s your one-sentence definition of success?
Success is being happy with the delta between where you started and where you are now.
Why did you decide to get an MBA?
After the Navy, I wanted to build a good foundation of business knowledge to tie in with my leadership experience I gained in the military. I wanted to be as confident in my business skills as I was with my people skills and my Anderson experience helped me achieve that goal. In fact, I can honestly say that, without my MBA, I wouldn’t be able to do my job. Every day I use tools that I learned in class, and it has allowed me to personally contribute to the growth of Lyft, which is really gratifying!
What is the most important class/topic/skill that we should be teaching our students today?
Every day, people are asked to make decisions in scenarios where there’s lots of data and facts that may actually be irrelevant. A skill that students today can certainly utilize is the ability to sift through this noise. Don’t be too quick to make a judgement, simply based on what you initially see or hear. Make sure you understand the scenario, the people you are interacting with, the entire picture before making a judgment at first glance.
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever gotten?
If you get knocked down, get back up. In the military, you are judged by the outcome, so it’s important to finish what you start, even if you encounter obstacles along the way. At Officer Candidate School I learned that, no matter how difficult things got, it was only temporary. I now know that with persistence you can push through any barrier to achieve the outcome you desire.
Tell us how your experience as a veteran helped you in your journey at UCLA Anderson.
My experience as a veteran encouraged me to be fearless when it came to challenging myself by putting myself in uncomfortable situations. During orientation week, I found other veterans and built a connection based on our common experiences. In addition to that welcome camaraderie, my military experience gave me an overall confidence to share my point of view in class, to speak in front of groups, and to stay calm during the routine homework and final exam "fire drills".
Financial Aid for Military
UCLA Anderson has options for you.
Post-9/11 GI Bill® & Yellow Ribbon Program
Mandatory student charges will be covered up to your eligibility percentage.
Application Fee Waivers
Application Fee waivers are available for all U.S. military applicants. To request a fee waiver for the full-time MBA, please reach out directly to MBA Admissions. To request a fee waiver for the Full-Employed MBA, reach out directly to FEMBA Admissions. To request a fee waiver for the Executive MBA or UCLA-NUS Executive MBA, reach out directly to EMBA Admissions.
Fellowships
Even if you are not eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® Yellow Ribbon Program, all full-time MBA students are automatically considered for fellowships. No separate application is needed.
“Success is peace of mind that is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best you are capable of becoming.”
— Coach John Wooden
“As a transitioning veteran, this quote helps remind me that hard work is done for self-satisfaction and rewarded by peace of mind. At the end of each day, I find comfort in knowing that if I dedicate 100 percent of myself to personal and professional growth, achievement is merely a side benefit.”
Captain Luke Goessman (EMBA ’18), U.S. Marine Corps
UCLA Resources for Veterans
resources
UCLA Veterans Facebook Group
Facebook page maintained by the Veterans Resources Center, where you can find out about events and important resources for Vets @UCLA
Resources
UCLA Veterans Resource Office
UCLA has been serving veterans for nearly 70 years! Whether through on- or off-campus support for student veterans, UCLA serves those who serve in myriad ways.
Learn About the Organizations That Advance Our
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Mission
Women@Anderson
Black@Anderson
Veterans@Anderson
LGBTQ@Anderson
Latinx@Anderson
