From the cockpit to the classroom …and back to the cockpit

When Abigail Khushf (MBA ’22) decided to pursue the Flexible MBA program, she thought she was ready to leave the cockpit behind for a more corporate lifestyle. 

Khushf began her military career at the U.S. Naval Academy. Throughout her service, she flew with a few different flying communities, eventually ending her career flying VIPs on fixed-wing, twin-engine TurboProp aircrafts.

As an active-duty pilot, Khushf enrolled in Carey’s online Flexible MBA program because she wanted to change her path and transition into a civilian career.

She chose to enroll in the Flexible MBA program to enhance her leadership and organizational skills as she was interested in building teams, working with people, and the human resources side of leadership.

But while in Carey’s online program, Khushf realized she was not ready to step away from flying, and ultimately chose to continue her flying career and MBA studies.

Khushf’s military background gave her a unique perspective in the classroom, but the business courses allowed her to translate those experiences into a business context. She mentioned that the skills developed in the leadership, negotiations, and consumer behavior courses were particularly valuable in both the program and her career.

“In the military, you have your own set of terms, processes, and ways to communicate with each other,” she said. “I collaborated with professionals from a range of industries. And those courses helped me understand the foundations of business and how to communicate ideas and ask reasonable questions,” she said.

After transitioning out of the military this past summer, Khushf has continued her flying career as a first officer for United Airlines. As a pilot, Khushf says she interacts with customers frequently. Her communication, engagement, and marketing skills have made her an excellent representative for the airline. 

“The Flexible MBA program taught me skills that I use daily in my career. And the graduate degree has opened doors for me to apply to teaching and instructor positions within my field.”

A program built for military members

Khushf was drawn to the MBA program because of the transparent support Carey provides military members.

“Carey made it explicitly clear that they supported military members like me through the Yellow Ribbon Program and their understanding of the challenges we face,” she said. 

She said she didn’t anticipate how much the program would deliver on that promise.

During her time in the program, there were periods of time where she found herself out of touch—deployed with no cell phone or internet service.

“As long as I could let my professors know, they were always flexible and allowed me time to catch up,” Khushf said. “I believed every word said to me during the admissions process, and that’s exactly what I received in the program. The Flexible MBA was exactly as advertised.”

Beyond the flexibility, the program also allowed Khushf to preserve part of her GI Bill.

“Carey made it possible for me to take more classes and accelerate my learning, which allowed me to save some of my benefits,” she said. “I think it’s an exceptional aspect of the program for military members. It allows you to accelerate your program if you choose.”

Although most of her program was completed online, Khushf had the opportunity to come into Carey and participate in an in-person course.

Khushf said the Leadership and Organizational Behavior course helped her pinpoint her goals and pushed her to develop the skills to achieve them.

“The whole course was really polished,” she said. “It really helped me discover my goals as both a leader and as a team member. Having the option to participate in-person really emphasizes what makes the Flexible MBA program so great.”