Education
My exit from the military overlapped with tackling what I always failed at – school – in two summer sessions at the College of William and Mary. Specifically, my weakest link, language classes, where I would never earn higher than a C-. But now I was hungry to learn after my travels and experiences. I acquired focus, was now free from a low ceiling of opportunity in the military and liberated from parental failure. One thing I would still miss from the military was purposeful impact, responsibility, and camaraderie.
My parents did not prepare me for college, and I wouldn’t have landed anywhere good with the grades I had. While I didn’t understand the difference between a community college or university, or anything about the application process, I was determined to succeed and earned A- grades in both of my Spanish classes. Thinking that was enough to prove myself, arrogant 21-year-old Lance met with a wonderful lady in the admissions office who told me how things really worked and offered me a path forward. To stand a chance, I had to produce straight As across all 16 credits in specific courses from a nearby community college and secure shining letters of recommendation. I was determined to do whatever it took, and I did more, completing 19 credits with all A’s while mourning the passing of my stepmother. One of the best moments was being accepted into William and Mary for the January 2007 semester.
In my first semester, I filed and founded a 501c3 called the Veterans Society of William and Mary, where I lobbied to change policies that made veterans ineligible from grant programs for low-income students because of the paltry $1,200/month in education benefits we received that ridiculously made the financial aid office decide we didn’t qualify, even though we were all from low-income households and low income ourselves. I didn’t think we should be denied the same opportunities as other students because we decided to make personal sacrifices and serve our country. The group also pursued education and integration with non-veteran students, helped students transition out of the military and integrate into civilian life, and navigate the new environment they found themselves in with friends who’ve already done it.
After starting my second semester of college, the military started recalling many of the guys I served with back into the Marines for one final deployment for General Petraeus’s “surge” in Iraq (which succeeded). I was called to one of the musters, but thankfully avoided it based on my location and circumstances at the time. But many of my friends from my platoon were not, and after settling into their new lives for over a year, put the uniform back on, put their lives and families on hold, and returned to Iraq. This possibility hung over me throughout college, still looking back as I was trying to move forward.
I decided to major in economics and international relations. My focus in the later was Latin America and I studied under the best, George Grayson. Our class traveled to Mexico to observe elections in Michoacán, and I attended an event at the Mexican Embassy. Economics was and remains my favorite area of study because it drives everything that touches our lives. I seen it as an element of nature.
A string of unlikely events and decisions motivated by kindness one Sunday morning presented me with a summer internship opportunity at consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton in 2008, which I secured and continued remotely until graduation. It was the one unexpected outcome in college that gave me brilliant mentors and guided me to where I am today.
I graduated Cum Laude in three years in May 2009 with a double major in economics and international relations. Three years after finishing my final deployment, but three years after my high school peers, summer courses and a study abroad trip to Chile over the winter brought me to the minimum 120 credits required to graduate. I was excited for the future and discovering what more I could do as I escaped my past and laughed at the idea that I was stupid through school.
I rewarded myself with a solo backpacking trip in Western Europe for spring break but had no clue what I wanted to do next. I thought law school seemed like a good idea and spent free time in the summer studying for LSATs. The day before the test I was hospitalized.
While recovering, I had time for reflection and realized I belonged in business school. I applied and started the 3-5 year “Flex MBA” program at William and Mary in January 2010. I relocated and returned to consulting at Booz Allen Hamilton after a short time working at Oracle, which could not let me work remotely fulltime.
Business was easy and business school was fun compared to my undergraduate studies at the same University. I enrolled in three study abroad programs and traveled to India, China, and a few countries in Latin America in 2011-2012. I visited Disney in China, an LED factory, a gold operation, silk factory, a chemical factory, and so many other incredible places and companies. And of course, we had fun doing it and visited the Taj Mahal and Great Wall of China.
To graduate by my May 2012 goal, I appealed to a professor to take an independent study in entrepreneurship to earn three credits. He approved, but I needed to decide what business I would start. Being in a tourist town, and a foodie familiar with the best places, visitors would often ask me for recommendations for places to eat. So, in the fall of 2010, I decided I’d create a tour that would take people to try the best bites around the area: a food tour!
It took me 18 months to open because I did everything the wrong way. But when I got my first customers and they were happy with what I’d invested so much time in creating, I was hooked. Their happiness meant more to me than the revenue it brought.
Starting that business was the most valuable experience I had in business school because I learned by practical application and failed over and over until I got it right; but it also opened my eyes to how behind the curve business schools are, and the important things they didn’t teach that I needed, including sales and digital marketing.
I graduated from the MBA program in May 2012, but in my final semester I was laid off from the promising new career as a Program Manager for a software reseller I loved that finally led me into the private sector. I did not want to get stuck in the public sector arena. I had no doubt that I’d be drowning in offers from other companies given my PMP and Six Sigma Certifications; military background; resume; and security clearance level. Other graduates who had no work experience and none of that already had offers; surely, I would find one easily?
Undergrad and grad school were some of the best moments of my life, with fun times, friends, absorbing information, and good memories. But now that it was behind me, it was time to get down to work, resolve my unemployment situation, and rediscover the purpose I was missing from my time in the Marines.
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