Biography
When Dan Hacker 20MBA transitioned from being an artillery officer in the army to becoming a full-time employee in the corporate world, he knew he needed some help. He decided to apply to Goizueta to help round out his business acumen. “An MBA gave me the hard skills I needed to have a soft landing, so to speak, into the corporate world,” Dan says.
As his previous role was a supply officer in the military, he thought he would be moving into supply chain. However, with the help of his MBA, he found he could move in a variety of directions. He discovered a strong interest in finance and post-graduation accepted a full-time job at Delta Air Lines in the fuel finance department.
“I think that an MBA provides a veteran specifically with that foundation of general business knowledge that they wouldn't have, and allows them to leverage their problem solving and leadership experience with that foundation in the corporate world,” he says.
Both Emory and Goizueta offer a variety of resources for veterans looking to transition into the corporate world such as the Yellow Ribbon program, the Goizueta Business School Veterans Association and more. “The resources and support that is offered to veterans are tremendous through the Career Management Center (CMC) and the admissions office,” Dan says. “The CMC was very understanding of the background that I had that was relatively non-traditional and was able to leverage my story to connect with employers on a way that they understood.”
One of the most impactful experiences during his time at Goizueta was participating in the Goizueta Advanced Leadership Academy (GALA), an experiential learning experience made up of seminars, guest speakers and a capstone sailing trip to the British Virgin Islands where fellows get to put their leadership skills to the test. “One of the things that was great about it was that it got me to work with a team in a small, stressful environment where there wasn’t a rigid hierarchical structure like there is in the military,” Dan says.
Through all of his experiences at Goizueta, Dan discovered just how many doors opened while pursuing an MBA. “It seems like making a big career pivot out of the military can be somewhat natural, but it can be difficult to do without a recruiting pipeline and without a knowledge base,” he says. “There's so much more you can do with this base of an MBA.”