Student Profile: Transitions

Zandra Minor ’11
Pre-SOM: U.S. Army
Summer Internship: Booz Allen Hamilton

My older brother went to West Point. When I visited, I decided that’s where I would go too. By the time I was 23, I had deployed to Iraq leading a logistics unit of 60 people — managing $20 million worth of equipment and coordinating with 100 different customers in five different functional areas. That was just the best job.

In the military, you get great leadership experiences. You're managing people while accomplishing a range of challenging tasks, but you don’t understand the bottom line the way someone in a private-sector business does. SOM has been a great place for me to transition from the military into civilian life. Getting an MBA has put me in a position to continue to pursue challenging jobs in which I work with diverse groups of people and problem-solve — now in a business setting.

SOM is an environment where learning is the focus. If I were to describe SOM as being unique in one way, it would be the collaborative environment. There’s such a diverse group of students and faculty that you can always find somebody to answer your questions, someone who has interesting insights and perspectives.

I’ve been involved with the Public Speaking Club, the Veterans Club, and the Women in Management Club. I’ve also been one of the leaders within the ROTC program at the University of New Haven, including teaching the Introduction to Army Leadership class and supervising the 6:00 a.m. workouts. That's tiring after a group meeting that goes to 11:00 the night before, but I like being able to share my experience with the cadets.

I've also taken some classes outside SOM. One of those, Studies in Grand Strategy, looks at the choices current and historical leaders have made and their impact on the larger world. I’m currently taking Faith and Globalization, the class being taught by Tony Blair. It has made me think in a different way by looking at the ways that faith and globalization have blurred the borders between countries.

I will be joining Deloitte doing strategy consulting for their federal practice in Washington, D.C. I’m coming from the public service side, and I’m going into a mixture of public and private. I see that as being consistent with SOM’s multi-disciplinary approach. The school is concerned with producing graduates who, whatever sector or industry they may end up in, have genuine concern for society and want what they do to have significant impact.

Interviewed on November 30, 2010.