Deployed MBA student balances school and service

Duty to service and school are what drive Senior Airman Lujana Thapa, ’24 MBA. Despite being thousands of miles away on deployment in the Middle East, Thapa remains dedicated to her academic goals at the Carlson School.

An immigrant from Nepal, Thapa decided to join the Air Force Reserve to give back to her adopted country. Meanwhile, her corporate experience at Cargill inspired her to pursue her MBA to advance her career. Thapa, a first-generation student, completed her first year of the program this spring and began her deployment over the summer.

While on her mission overseas, Thapa is pushing herself to fulfill her service duties and stay on top of her studies. She shares how her military experience inspires her and what it takes to stay balanced.

Q: How has your military background helped you in the classroom as an MBA student?

There are three main ways I’ve brought my military experience into the classroom: discipline, collaboration, and adaptability.

My military journey involved extensive physical and leadership training, fostering a strong sense of discipline within me. This quality has proven highly transferable to my academic life, where I've successfully maintained consistency while managing a demanding course load. The military also places a significant emphasis on collaboration, a valuable trait that aligns well with my MBA program's focus on group projects and team-based learning. Additionally, in the military, we frequently encounter rapidly changing and unpredictable situations, which honed my adaptability skills. This readiness has equipped me to navigate unforeseen challenges while engaging with teams within the MBA classroom. 

Q: What is it like balancing being a reservist and a full-time student?

When I decided to serve the United States, the military’s mission became my foremost priority. Undoubtedly, the mission always comes first. However, as a reservist, I have learned to balance these responsibilities alongside my personal life. Over the years, I have come to recognize the significance of maintaining open lines of communication, both with my military leadership and academic advisors, as a key to success in my reservist role. Both parties have played pivotal roles in supporting me, whether it's addressing schedule changes or helping me identify and prioritize my commitments.

Q: What is it like being deployed as an MBA student? How have you been able to apply certain skills, lessons, or ideas from your MBA classes to your service?

I have definitely started looking at situations with a critical MBA perspective. As soon as I got to my deployed location, I noticed a substantial consumption of water bottles each week, with no recycling bins in sight. I proactively raised this concern with our commander, who encouraged me to delve deeper into the matter. This led to engaging discussions with a brigadier general in the host country’s military and numerous U.S. military leaders.

Through this collaboration, I had the opportunity to enhance coalition partnerships and take the lead in launching a comprehensive recycling initiative across the base. We aimed to target the recycling of 1.8 million plastic bottles per week, potentially resulting in a significant cost savings of $3 million in waste management expenses. My core MBA curriculum, encompassing subjects like strategy, marketing, data-driven analysis, and corporate venturing, has definitely equipped me with a distinctive perspective and realize a business need whenever possible.

Q: What has it been like working with the Carlson School faculty and staff to coordinate your academics around your deployment and duties as a reservist?

As a reservist, my academic journey has been seamlessly integrated with my military obligations as I have received support from my professors during annual training or drill weekends. Additionally, my academic advisors helped me plan a few classes around my deployment so that I could still graduate on time. My career advisors are also providing exceptional support as I start investigating job opportunities.

Q: What is your advice for veterans or service members who are considering business school?

I would advise veterans or service members to take advantage of military resources that are available to them, such as the G.I. Bill and veteran benefits. There is also a chance to build a strong network in business school. They can connect with fellow veterans, alumni, and current students who have a military background who can provide guidance, support, and a sense of camaraderie during an academic journey and beyond.
 

Military-Friendly® has ranked the Carlson School MBA Programs as the #1 graduate business school in the nation. Military Friendly is a division of Victory Media, which for more than a decade has surveyed thousands of institutions and assembled lists that capture best practices in recruitment and retention of military employees, students, and franchisees.