When Alexandra Pogany, MBA ’26, was looking for an MBA program, finding a school in the National Capital Region was an important factor. When Smith’s MBA Admissions Office shared information about Smith’s extensive Veterans Programs, the former Military Logistics Officer found something she didn’t know she was looking for.
“I actually felt cared for,” Pogany said. “That they were willing to give me information that I didn’t have to ask for, because I didn’t know what to ask.” The admissions team also suggested she reach out to Frank Goertner, the Director of Federal and Veteran Affairs at the Smith School. Pogany said he shared a wealth of information with her about how many veterans were in the program and events that are available to help veterans make the transition to the MBA program. This information was appealing and something she said she didn’t easily find at other institutions. As she begins her second year of her MBA program, Pogany is helping to support other veteran students as the new president of the Smith Vets Club.
The focus on community and support is also one of the reasons Charles Castelly, MBA ’26, chose to pursue his degree at Smith. A former Army Military Police (MP), Castelly is a current Smith Veteran Lifelong Leader Fellow and president of the Finance and Venture Capital Association.
“We have events that we put on called veteran transition panels, which are helpful for everyone, especially for those who more recently left the service, or are newer to business in general,” Castelly said. While attending the annual MBA Veterans Career and Conference Expo in 2024, Castley met veteran MBA students from other institutions, and he discovered that Smith has one of the larger veteran populations compared to those other schools.
Students like Pogany and Castelly, who are dedicated to fostering the veteran community at Smith, are just one of the reasons veteran enrollment in Smith’s graduate programs has reached record levels. With over 100 service-connected students admitted this year to Smith’s graduate programs, military and veteran enrollment is up 35% from 2024. “This is the largest cohort of new Smith Vets I’ve had the pleasure to welcome aboard in my seven years here. But the real joy is not in the numbers - they are an impressive group of leaders in so many ways,” said Goertner.
Another reason is Smith’s commitment to creating opportunities for service-connected students, including the launch of the Initiative for Veteran Lifelong Leadership in 2019, a public/private partnership funded in part by Northrop Grumman. The initiative aims to promote “veterans as strategic assets for a united economy.”
“The program has three mission areas that we focus on for all of the veterans going through the program, as well as our alumni population and our partner network,” Goertner said. The initiative supports service-connected professional development, sharing leadership lessons learned across different industries and stages of life, and the third area of focus is to promote veteran small business and entrepreneurship.
Smith’s veteran alumni community is actively engaged with the program and recognizes the important role Smith played in their transition from the military. Secretary Ryan McCarthy, MBA ’13, credits Smith with helping him sharpen fundamental skills and build on the foundational key experiences he had in the military. McCarthy was sworn in as the 24th Secretary of the Army under President Donald J. Trump and served in the role until January 20th, 2021. He currently serves as Operating Partner for AE Industrial Partners and is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Advisors of the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business.
“One of the great things about the Smith experience was getting those repetitions on my own time to get better and make myself be the best version of me so that I could become a very productive teammate,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy credits Smith’s leadership, Goertner, and Dean Prabhudev Konana for building the successful veterans programs at Smith. “Two people in the right jobs that really care about [veterans] and they pour a tremendous amount of emotional energy in there to make it the best experience possible,” he said.
Alumnus and Navy veteran Jim Bell, MBA ’97, said Smith also helped him build on the experiential leadership he learned in the military and translate that experience into the private sector. “The university embraces those skillsets and understands the value of what that is, of what veterans have and can bring to the workforce,” he said.
“That support helped maximize the operational experiences that I had as a naval officer and be able to be an even better leader in the private sector,” Bell said. “I want to be able to support others who are making that transition because I think it is incredibly important.” Like McCarthy, Bell remains engaged with the Smith community, founding the veteran lifelong leadership fellow position that Castelly currently holds and actively mentoring its incumbents.
Supporting new students as they transition in is a priority for Pogany as well. She was inspired by her Smith Vets Club predecessor, who “enabled and inspired us [veterans] to come together.”
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About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master’s, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.