As a Kelley MBA and veteran, you will benefit from military peers, advocates, and resources at Kelley and Indiana University as you build your business career and transition to civilian life. You’ll have a certified career coach and peer coach, develop mentors, and become part of a diverse and supportive community that welcomes your contributions.
We’re here for you before you even step onto campus.
President, Kelley MBA Veterans Club
Steve Crandall began his MBA after a 21-year career in the US Army as an officer and pilot flying the most advanced helicopter in the world. He moved to Bloomington with his wife and is majoring in finance and business analytics as he prepares for a consulting career. His career development continues over the summer in Denver with an internship with PwC.
Vice President, Kelley MBA Veterans Club
Rav Riar began his Kelley MBA after working at NCIS and as a software engineer at Microsoft following his honorable discharge from the US Marine Corps in 2015. He moved to Bloomington with his fiancée—now wife—and is preparing for a career in product management by majoring in both business analytics and marketing. His career preparation continues this summer with his internship at Amazon in Seattle as a senior product manager.
Vice President—Foreign Veterans Affairs, Kelley MBA Veterans Club
Before beginning his MBA, Mani Selvaraj served in the Indian Navy as an Executive Officer in the Surface Warfare Branch for 10 years and then worked as a business analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (India). He moved to Bloomington with his family and is majoring in supply chain operations and business analytics as he prepares for a career in supply chain and operations. He will intern with Brunswick Corporation in its Corporate Strategy Leadership Development Program in Wisconsin this summer.
17Military veterans pursuing MBAs and joint degrees
8Veterans moved to Bloomington with families or partners
3Home countries of veterans
Cameron Johnson, MBA'21 Senior Manager—Omnichannel Strategy, Walmart
Cameron served eight years in the US Air Force before moving to Bloomington with his family to begin his Kelley MBA. He majored in Finance and Business Analytics.
Why did you pursue an MBA after the military?
CJ: While in the military, I was able to develop strong leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. Unfortunately, none of these military skills directly transfer into a civilian career in business. I saw an MBA as the bridge that I needed to transition from my job in the USAF to my dream career in Corporate America.
What parts of the Kelley MBA program did you enjoy the most and why?
CJ: The people. The people associated with the Kelley School of Business—faculty, alumni, students—are all incredible! I have made lasting relationships and I am grateful to be a part of the largest alumni network in the world.
The support network at Kelley helps veterans develop confidence as business leaders. Matt Ewing, MBA’17, was able to translate his leadership and teamwork skills as a commander in the US Army with the help of career coaches, peer mentors, and other veterans.
Description of the video:
Matt Ewing, MBA’17:
When I first started my MBA experience, I was most nervous about the lack of business experience I had, because I had a lot of very amazing experiences in the Army but those didn’t necessarily translate very well into the business world.
The support network here at Kelley really helps veterans feel very confident going forward. There’s many different opportunities to be mentored, to be coached a lot. Before I even got to the school, I had a veteran reach out to me, so he was talking to me a lot, over phone, over email, making sure I was prepared so that when I came in here I wouldn’t have a hard time. I would hit the ground running and be ready to go.
And then when you get here you have a formal coach through the career counseling. For me, it was Nicolette. We sat down one on one. She reviewed my resume and made sure that everything was in order. We did a mock interview to make sure that I was prepared for interviews.
She’s been there the entire time to make sure that if I had any questions, would it be about different companies or experiences, she’d be there to give some insight to me.
On top of the that you have a second year who’s kind of got the shared experience of going through as a fresh student and having to interview and having to network and having to do all the things you’re doing right now.
Mine was Dzifa. He sat down with me and we did a one-on-one interview. He looked over my resume to make sure that it was understandable for someone who didn’t have a military background.
For me in the Marketing Academy, I had Ray Luther as my director. Ray was able to relate to me as a veteran. Everybody here cares about not just where you are going but where you’ve come from.
Compared to where I was a year ago I’d say I’m very different. Coming in I didn’t really have any experience interviewing or recruiting, and coming out I feel very confident.
