How William & Mary’s Online Programs Support Military Career Transitions

Located in one of the U.S.’s most military-dense regions, William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business has developed a profound understanding of the challenges and opportunities that service members face when transitioning to civilian careers. For many military personnel, the path from military service to the business world can seem daunting—different terminology, different cultures and often, very different expectations.

Yet, the skills, experiences and perspectives gained through military service create an exceptional foundation for business leadership. William & Mary’s online business programs are specifically designed to bridge this gap, offering flexible, military-friendly education that honors your service while preparing you for your next mission in the business world. Whether you are a veteran or on active duty, William & Mary’s online business programs can accommodate your schedule.

At the heart of William & Mary’s support for military students is the Center for Military Transition (CMT), led by Executive Director Jonathan “JD” Due, himself a 20-year Army veteran.

“My center exists to be able to empower. We empower you primarily through connections, sometimes through co-curricular or extracurricular opportunities,” explained Due. “But it’s really to empower you to augment a world-class education that then allows you to really think like an executive.”

Using a high-touch, student-focused support strategy that takes you from applicant to alumni, the CMT’s approach is collaborative and integrative. As a result, the CMT is able to integrate existing curricula with meaningful connections, collaborating with faculty, staff, Mason School centers, leading non-profits and corporate partners to supplement existing and emerging relationships.

The CMT takes a comprehensive approach to supporting military transitions, focusing on more than just career placement. Due describes the center’s philosophy:

“Whether you are active duty, a veteran or a military spouse by means of your own choices and your own lived experience, you actually bring a really rich experience and set of perspectives and set of talents to whatever chapter of service you want to do next. And our assumption is, if you take that unique experience, you add to it world class education, particularly delivered in a flexible, asynchronous way, and then add on top of those two things meaningful connections... that is then the recipe, not just for career success, but actually to be able to flourish in all aspects of your life.”

The CMT offers programs specifically designed for veterans and transitioning service members, including:

• Flourishing Through Life Transitions: A Veteran-to-Executive certificate program emphasizing wellness and self-discovery, helping veterans transition to high-level civilian management positions
• Veteran Entrepreneur Scholars: An intensive entrepreneurship boot camp that trains current and former service members to innovate, build startups and apply Silicon Valley mindsets to their leadership roles

Due and his team provide individualized support based on each student’s interests and goals, leveraging William & Mary’s extensive network to create meaningful connections.

“What we do is screen geographically. Now we have about 75 folks that we can think about connecting you with. The next thing that we talk about is industry. I can then cross-reference that in terms of industry,” Due explained, describing how he helps students connect with alumni in their desired location and field.

Jennifer Karnosky, a William & Mary alumna who served in the Air Force for eight years before completing her MS in Business Analytics in Fall 2023, credits these connections with her career success. “In combination with participating in networking events, getting to know JD, taking advantage of the resources that are available... using that networking got me into my job now. I would not have had the resume, the clout or the advocates without the connections that I got through resources that JD provided,” she said.

One of the biggest challenges for active duty personnel pursuing education is the unpredictable nature of military commitments. Deployments, training exercises and changing duty stations can disrupt traditional educational paths. William & Mary’s online business programs are designed with these realities in mind.

Nick Bowlin completed his MBA in 2024 while still on active duty in the Navy. “The last three years I have been on shore duty. I go out to ships, we get underway for two or three days at a time. I do frequently travel to Florida, to California, to Poland, Romania, Bahrain, Spain. So my job takes me all over the place, and I probably travel about two to three times per month out of the area,” he explained.

Despite this demanding schedule, Bowlin was able to complete his MBA successfully because of the program’s design. “Being able to still work on the program and interact with my class and having support from the instructors was probably a key to my success,” he said. “And one of the things that I really liked about the program the most was that all the content is asynchronous. There are synchronous components that are optional.”

This flexibility is intentional, as active-duty military, veterans and military spouses often have unpredictable schedules.

Beyond flexible coursework, William & Mary offers support systems specifically designed for military students. Faculty are trained to understand military obligations and can provide accommodations when duty calls. Support systems are in place if you need to adjust your schedule or take off from a class.

In addition, the curriculum itself was designed to be flexible. You are able to access Canvas, the online learning management platform that allows you to complete your coursework, interact with faculty and fellow students, and stay connected with the William & Mary community, from your phone if needed. Of course, you can always access Canvas from your laptop or computer. No matter where you’re located in the world, you will have access to the tools you need to succeed in your program.

William & Mary participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program, designed to close the gap between the cost of tuition and what the GI Bill covers for out-of-state students. Additionally, active duty service members and veterans enrolled in the Online MBA program may be eligible for the Kyle J. Milliken Memorial Scholarship.

“Talk to Carolyn Ward, [the veterans benefits officer],” Bowlin advised. “Even though you’re one of many students at William & Mary, if you’re a veteran, she feels like a concierge. She will make you feel like you’re the only person that she deals with the entire year. I never had any issues as far as funding.”

The true measure of William & Mary’s effectiveness in supporting military transitions can be seen in the success of its alumni.

Kwesi Campbell’s journey from military intelligence to consulting at Deloitte by earning his MBA demonstrates how military experience, combined with William & Mary’s education and network, creates powerful career opportunities.

“I was competing against people from Harvard. And the differentiator was like, ‘Yeah, I know those people.’ I was a veteran, I’d seen the world and [they brought] a lot of power. You bring a lot of expertise, and this William & Mary brand is just icing on top of it,” Campbell explained.

He leveraged William & Mary’s strong reputation in consulting. “A lot of people in the consultancy in the Big 4, they regularly go to William & Mary to recruit. That instant connection allowed me to have a lot of conversations with people at Deloitte.”

Bowlin used his MBA education to enhance his effectiveness in his Navy role while simultaneously preparing for his upcoming retirement.

“I’ve really been able to apply a lot of what I’ve learned throughout the program in my current role, specifically from the data analytics course and the accounting course. I’ve even used a lot of that in my own nonprofit that I am part of.”

Upon entering the civilian workforce, Karnosky continued to face the challenge familiar to many military spouses—maintaining a career despite frequent relocations. William & Mary’s Online MSBA program gave her the skills and credentials to overcome this challenge.

“My husband stayed active duty, so I still had that every two years moving cycle and then learning how to balance my family life with my own professional career, knowing that I wasn’t going to have the stability. It was either I was going to be on the path of ‘I’m just going to continue to be a stay at home parent, because it’s too hard to move around all the time,’ or I can take the risk, ignore the imposter syndrome voice that was happening on my shoulder, apply to this program and see what happens. And it just happened to turn out that it was definitely life-changing for me.”

The transition from military service to the business world represents both a challenge and an opportunity. William & Mary’s online business programs, combined with the specialized support of the Center for Military Transition, provide a pathway for service members to leverage their military experience while gaining the business education and connections needed for civilian success.

As Due explains, the goal is to help military students “find an opportunity where you can operate at your most productive, at your most fulfilled and your most resilient, even though that chapter of service might be transitioning from a service that’s in uniform to a new chapter of service that’s going to come outside of uniform.”

For military members considering business education, William & Mary offers more than just military-friendly policies—it provides a community that understands and values your service, flexible programs that accommodate your unique challenges and connections that can transform your career trajectory.

Your military service has equipped you with exceptional capabilities. William & Mary can help you translate those capabilities into business success. Schedule a call with one of our helpful admissions outreach advisors today to learn more about what William & Mary online can do for you.