MBA Fellows student is Johns Hopkins Carey Business School's first recipient of scholarship for veterans
The first Hodson Star Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School is Edward McDonough, who began his studies this fall in the MBA Fellows program.
He began his military career in 2001 as a medical service corps officer stationed at Fort Dietrich, Maryland and in 2003 received the news that he would be deployed to Iraq. During his seven month tour, McDonough served as the Information Management Officer for the main combat support hospital in Baghdad, an experience he describes as life-changing. “You find that you go in with one opinion of the world, a me vs. them mentality” he says, “and you come out with the knowledge that the Iraqis are great people. They want the same things that we want here – a safe and peaceful place to raise a family.”
McDonough returned to Fort Dietrich in 2004 and was assigned the position of aide de camp to the commanding general – a position that gave him opportunities to influence policy by providing briefings on bio-defense and other military/medical issues to congressmen and senators. Now a civilian, he continues to work at Fort Dietrich as a contractor managing medical imaging technology that allows a soldier’s medical records and vitally important images of injuries to travel with the soldier across the world, and back home to the US.
McDonough is the father of three small children – and while skimming his small-town newspaper, the Walkersville Gazette, for family activities, he came across an article about the Hodson Star Scholarship program. He contacted several area universities but found the right fit here at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. He states, “The MBA Fellows program is the way education should be - it crosses sectors, it’s team-oriented, and centers on real-world client engagement. It includes students from every ethnicity and background, which really forces you to think in a different way.”
He hopes that his Johns Hopkins MBA will allow him to circumvent a traditional career path and move quickly into leadership positions. In particular, the Carey Business School’s focus on global involvement and service to humanity are closely aligned with his personal philosophy and career aspirations. He says, “My hope is that you can touch people’s lives and make the world a better place.”
Back on base at Ft. Dietrich, McDonough is eager to spread the news about the Hodson Star program. “I just hope that I won’t be the only one to benefit from this great scholarship. I am humbled every day and just hope that I can continue to say thank you and open the doors for others to come and take advantage of this program.”
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