Guest Blogger: Contributed by Matt Mylott, Assistant Director of Client Management at UNCW’s Swain Center (this post originally appeared on WilmingtonBiz.com on March 1, 2021).

20 years ago, I wouldn’t have guessed I’d be where I’m at today. Representing UNCW’s Swain Center for Executive Education in our regional marketplace hardly aligns with the bulk of my professional experience. Had you asked me then, I would’ve guessed I’d still be in the Marine Corps in 2020. But life happens, and in 2008 I permanently separated from the Corps. Over the subsequent 8 years, I worked as a Sheriff’s Deputy and spent several years in healthcare sales. Having siblings with master’s degrees and quite successful careers, I had an ever-present interest in pursuing a graduate degree that would equip and position me as a more desirable workforce candidate. What I was NOT interested in was preparing for and sitting through a GMAT exam. As I investigated the MBA programs at my alma mater, I was pleasantly surprised to learn the Cameron School of Business (CSB) waived the GMAT requirement. A short time later, I applied to CSB’s Professional MBA program. I was later accepted and was set to begin coursework in Fall of 2016.

(This post originally appeared as a We Are UNCW feature on December 11, 2019)

As a military-affiliated student, Hannah Schield ’19 has lived in three states and attended four colleges over the past five years in her pursuit to obtain a degree. Her hard work will come to fruition when Schield receives her business administration degree with a concentration in supply chain management from the Cameron School of Business.
 
"Once the requirements of my degree are completed, what ultimately matters are not the courses listed on my transcript, but the sensibilities and habits of mind that I bring to my work, friends, family, and indeed, the rest of my life,” said Schield.
According to Schield, who is CSB’s “Outstanding Graduate” for the school of business and within the supply chain program, the knowledge she has gained during her studies brings immense value to organizations.
 

By Tricia Vance, UNCW Office of University Relations (This post is a We Are UNCW feature from February 19, 2019).

He served his country as an infantry Marine, and now Jay Richardson ’20 has turned that sense of duty toward a career defending the nation’s cyber networks. Richardson, one of more than 2,100 military-affiliated students at UNCW, plans to earn a degree in computer information technology with a cybersecurity minor.