Andrew graduated from West Point in 2000. He was a military officer for five years, holding a range of positions including platoon leader and Fire Support Officer. Andrew also spent a year in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Before completing his MBA he received a job offer in his chosen area of finance.

How was your transition from the military into the school environment?

I studied for Level 1 CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) my last year in the military. It was a tremendous help in preparing for school. It shows a commitment to finance. I highly recommend it to anyone making the transition from the military into a career in finance. You have downtime while you are deployed overseas and it is better to spend some of that time doing something rather than hanging out.

My transition from the military to the school environment was fairly easy; no major issues. People are very understanding. My school has students from diverse backgrounds; no one here is "cookie cutter."

A lot of people don't have leadership experience. Military people are given a lot of responsibility at a young age, and know how to make decisions under stress. When it comes to group work, people appreciate what military personnel bring to the table. I help to organize and allocate responsibility. I can think linearly and organize my time.

It is a challenge to communicate the military experience to people from other walks of life. My school has a mix of people—international, non-profit…my experience is different from my classmates', but everyone here has different backgrounds so that smoothes things over. Everyone is very intelligent and bright.