Wednesday, April 25, 2018
• Tell us about your current role at Yale University?
I edit Yale Medicine Magazine, and do social media work for the medical school.
• Would you share some of your military experience and transition to the private sector?
In the Army, I was an infantry officer. I did PL / XO time with the 173rd and had a couple cups of coffee on my way to MCCC as the interim S-1; then I did AS3 and Company Command with the 10th mountain. Transitioning to the private sector I studied for and received degrees in journalism and writing, then went into freelancing to practice the craft.
• How does your military experience impact your position at Yale?
The military is all about using personal discipline as the basis for group leadership. If you can’t lead yourself, you can’t lead others. While it may not sound like editing a magazine or managing social media have a lot in common with leading an offensive operation into Taliban-held territory, I find myself relying on lessons I learned in the military all the time.
• Could you discuss some of the intangible skills that veterans like yourself bring to an organization?
Veterans are team-builders, network-expanders, and mission-focused. Given a clear objective with a well-defined budget and timeline, there is nothing we can’t accomplish.
• What do you think about the Yale Veterans Network?
YVN is a great resource for veterans working at Yale. I’ve found the other members very welcoming, either as colleagues willing to share insights about navigating Yale’s employment system or New Haven, or as fellow veterans interested in sharing a laugh about the different world we all once lived in—a world that is incomprehensible to most civilians.
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