Learning to “Chill Out”: Meet Zicklin Alum and Army Vet Dan Johnson (MBA, ’25)

Freshly minted MBA in hand, U.S. Army Reserve Captain Dan Johnson (MBA, ’25) is headed to his post-graduation position as a sales associate relationship manager at Cognizant, a technology consultancy. He spoke to Zicklin News about his experiences in the military and at business school.

Zicklin News:  Tell us about yourself.

Dan Johnson:  I grew up on Long Island and got a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Penn State. I always wanted to join the Army, so after working for a few years, I applied to the U.S. Army’s Officer Candidate School and commissioned as an infantry second lieutenant. I served active duty for four years in the U.S., Syria, and Kuwait, and transferred into the Army Reserve while attending the Full-Time MBA program at Baruch for the past two years.

ZN: Why did you decide to go to business school?

Dan:  I knew I wanted to return to the business world after serving in the military. Before enlisting, I worked for a few years at Swiss Re as an underwriter and I really enjoyed it. All the senior managers had MBAs, so I decided that was my next step. I left active duty one month before starting the Full-Time MBA program at Zicklin School of Business.

ZN: Why did you choose the Zicklin School?

Dan: Reputation and location. My sister studied marketing and communications at Baruch, so I knew about the Zicklin School of Business’s incredible reputation, especially for return on investment. I wanted to relocate back to New York because my wife was already living here, studying acupuncture. We’d been separated for four years while I was overseas and wanted to be together again. Also, the opportunities the Zicklin School of Business presents are unbeatable, especially for networking.

ZN: How does your military training translate to the business world?

Dan:  My military experience gave me skills in time management, communication, and discipline. I’ve learned to present information effectively and how to work with people from various backgrounds and cultures. Knowing how to collaborate with individuals from all levels of an organization, from private to general, is a great skill in business—you can work with everyone from the top executives to people hired yesterday.

ZN: Did anything from your military background not translate well?

Dan: Analytics. The Army’s systems are pretty outdated, so coming into this program and having to learn statistics, accounting, and data analytics was very challenging. Also, in the Army it was “go, go, go,” 24/7, and I was constantly rushing to the next task. I had to learn to take a breath, chill out.

ZN: What’s next for you?

Dan: I’m working as a sales associate relationship manager for Cognizant, a tech consulting firm. Last summer I was an intern at Infosys, a competitor, and I really like industry and position. I’m optimistic about what the future has in store for me at Cognizant.

This article is the second in a series of profiles of Zicklin students and alumni with military backgrounds.

Categories: Alumni News, News, Student News