Many American military personnel who have spent a good deal of their lives in the service are understandably unsure about how to transition to the civilian world. When they complete their service, an estimated 115,000 people every year often try to find a new route by pursuing a college degree.
National nonprofit Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP) has been instrumental in helping enlisted veterans navigate their post-military journeys by offering university-hosted academic boot camps. For the second consecutive summer, UVA and the McIntire School partnered with WSP to bring two separate cohorts into an intensive weeklong program, one focused on humanities, and another exploring business through programs led by Commerce School faculty and staff.
An Army veteran who served two tours in Iraq and former adviser for the UVA chapter of Student Veterans of America, Commerce Professor Jeffrey Lovelace says that, while last year’s WSP boot camp had an entrepreneurial spin, this one turned its attention to case preparation and helping participants to envision what business school could be like. The diverse group included “nontraditional students just out of the service to those who’ve been out longer, and from 20-somethings to 40- to 50-year-olds who are interested in both our undergraduate and graduate programs.”
Lovelace says that what took place was much more of a McIntire-focused experience than the previous year.
“We toured the new building, peers came in and talked about student success, transferring, and really gave a very in-depth kind of discussion.” he says. “[Associate Director of Career Development] Rory [Lee-Washington] came in and was talking about career placements and the opportunities that McIntire opens up, showing where some of our veterans have placed coming from different programs. We had a veteran who’s a recent Darden graduate, David Tonacci, breaking down a case study as a peer mentor. And another thing that was different about this year was that we held a McIntire veteran alumni panel with three McIntire graduates and one College of Arts & Sciences grad.”
In discussing the approaches to finding success at UVA, Lovelace says that the program shared personal accounts and showed the many pathways available in higher education for veterans.
An Introduction to WSP
Three of the military who joined WSP include Juwon Brunson from Norfolk, VA, a retired Air Force veteran; Adam Leslie, a recently retired 23-year Air Force veteran from Pittsburgh PA; and Christopher Setzer from Tacoma, WA, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Specialist who says he’s “at about [the] 18-year mark, working towards [his] retirement transition.”
Believing it would help him discover his sense of purpose, Brunson was a return participant in the learning program. “As a person trying to still explore their ‘why,’ the energy that not only the fellow vets but the UVA staff was able to give showed all of us that we still matter, no matter which cohort, major, or experience we come from or want to pursue.”
Leslie learned about WSP from a co-worker, when he admitted he was thinking about returning to academic life, but was nervous to jump back in. “He told me that I needed to apply for WSP so I could learn skills needed to be successful in my educational journey,” he says. “After I did some research, I knew that this was the program for me to get back on the right track.”
Setzer was unfamiliar with WSP until a friend in the military and employed at the organization convinced him to check out the program. “Prior to attending, I didn’t really have a plan when I got out of the Army. I had some college but was going to settle for some vocational school and career,” he says. “The most eye-opening part for me was the overall college experience and the opportunities that I had available to me. Now I’m working towards finishing my bachelor’s and am considering pursuing my M.B.A. when I’m retired from the Army.”
Sharing Veteran Experiences
The veteran alumni panel discussion proved to be a worthwhile experience for all involved. Brunson shares that it was eye opening since it provided a space to “ask detailed, personal, and deep questions to the staff but also to some extremely successful veterans who were once in our shoes, taking the same courses, debating what to do after service, how they fit it, what’s their sense of purpose, what drives them every day.”
Leslie agrees that it was particularly helpful to hear from people who had been in the same position as himself just a few years prior. “These were folks from all walks of life, all branches of service, and extremely successful in their college programs,” he says. “I learned that I could do it too.”
Alumni panelist Ty Hamil (McIntire ’21, M.S. in Business Analytics ’25) recalls one interaction that stood out regarding how he found the confidence to pursue “an ambitious and highly competitive goal such as graduating from the McIntire School.” In his explanation, he highlighted the importance of approaching challenges in civilian life with the same disciplined mindset and resilience he had cultivated during military service. “Emphasizing the similarity between overcoming obstacles in military and academic settings resonated deeply with the audience, reinforcing the transferable nature of military-acquired skills into civilian success,” Hamil says.
Fellow panelist Noah Larmann (McIntire ’21, M.S. in Accounting ’21) was impressed by Hamil’s point about the importance of changing how they may envision future fellow undergrads or grads as peers and not just kids. “Students who attend UVA are incredibly bright and hardworking. I was very surprised by the level of maturity they demonstrated as recent high school grads and learned a lot working with them,” he says. “I think it’s good for current vet students to get that perspective from someone like Ty.”
For Hamil, sharing insights from what he learned with veterans who may face similar challenges was particularly rewarding, as it helped them to prepare for potential blind spots and have smoother transitions to the next chapter. “Before embarking on my own educational journey, I would have greatly benefited from hearing directly from others who had navigated this path successfully.”
Larmann enjoyed seeing the wide range of veterans and appreciates what they struggle with—especially those with longer service time—in learning to adjust to the civilian workplace and educational environment. “Events like these, with veterans who have a few years of adjustment under their belt, is helpful,” he says.
Expectations Surpassed with a Community of Support
The week of learning at WSP heartened Brunson as he toured McIntire’s new Shumway Hall and renovated Cobb Hall. “I have not seen such a drive performed before from other universities in divesting enormous resources, time, and effort into ensuring generations of students will be able to grow from McIntire’s new buildings.”
Setzer was moved by the Comm School’s people: “The faculty were tremendously helpful and welcoming,” he says, stressing that he benefited most from networking with other veterans who had come from situations similar to his own. “It was refreshing to see that even after I retire, there was an entire community full of support. The entire experience for me was transformative.”
Like Brunson and Setzer, Leslie says he enjoyed every aspect of the experience, crediting the McIntire faculty with providing snapshots of what to expect in their courses, touring the facilities, and networking with fellow students. “It was all much more than I could have ever expected. On top of that, Jeff Lovelace was an amazing facilitator and resource for all of us,” insists Leslie enthusiastically. “He was not just the lead for the week, but an absolute leader. The one-on-one time that he spent with WSP participants was priceless. You can tell that he cares about the students, the veteran experience, and the McIntire School. I don’t know what my expectations for the WSP experience were, but I was more than amazed at the end of the week.”
