McDonough Military Association Celebrates 11th Anniversary of Veterans Day War Stories Event

On Veterans Day, the McDonough Military Association celebrated the 11th anniversary of its annual War Stories event, which features storytelling by MBA student Veterans about their experiences serving in various sectors of the armed forces. 

The seven MBA veteran student panelists who shared their stories with the 155 students, faculty, and alumni in attendance included:

• Andres Bravo (MBA/SFS’23) recited a story about a mission in Afghanistan where his command negotiated a release of two kidnapped professors.
• Derek Cunningham (MBA’22) spoke about serving as a jet pilot for the Marine Corps and a mission he led in Syria after the 2018 chemical attack.
• Pete Dulany (MBA’23) spoke about his experiences in the Marine Corps, specifically as a company commander and an operations officer in the Marine Combat Training Battalion, the largest training unit by volume in Marines.
• J.P. Haynes (MBA’23) discussed his experiences on the ballistic missile submarine USS Nevada for 32 months.
• Jak Kramer (MBA’22) recounted his time in the Marines in Eastern Europe as an infantry officer. 
• Billy Quinn (MBA’23) a Navy helicopter pilot, explained the importance of crew relationships and communication in the air. 
• Soren Rose (MBA’21) spoke about success through feedback as a captain in the Coast Guard. 

Many of the veterans who shared stories about their service connected the skills they gained in the military to their continued education in the MBA program. 

“What you are focusing on there is leadership, moral and ethical decision making, how to deal with conflict and adversity, and how to make decisions in ambiguous situations where you do not have all the necessary information,” said Cunningham, who spoke about his time spent at Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia.

Dulany named a number of transferable skills that he picked up during time in the Marine Corps that helped during his transition to starting his MBA at Georgetown McDonough. He believes in having faith in the mission and working relentlessly on individual assignments to contribute to the larger project and create broader institutional change. 

Jack Murtha (MBA’21), president of the McDonough Military Association, said that sharing the experiences of veterans with McDonough classmates leads to a better understanding of the value veterans bring to organizations and to help provide relevant lessons in the business world.