Share your voice and view to be featured in the Summer 2026 issue of UNO Magazine.
UNO alumni and friends shared their voice and view for the Spring 2026 issue of UNO Magazine.
"After participating in the AFROTC program at UNO, I was commissioned as a United States Air Force Officer. The picture shows my mother pinning on my 2nd Lt. bars on May 20, 1972. My first assignment was as a Special Services Officer assigned to manage the non-appropriated funds at Cannon AFB in New Mexico. My work involved creating an annual budget for 24 different areas and overseeing their day-to-day income and expenses. After that, I was assigned to Kunsan AB in Korea, as the Chief of Special Services, where I supervised 300 people, coordinated seven major construction projects and personally managed the base’s non-appropriated funds. After returning to the United States, I transition into a new career field as a Missile Launch Control Officer at Malmstrom AFB in Montana. I initially managed activities to support ten ICBM missile locations. Later I oversaw the operations of fifty missile sites and then, as a Wing Command Post Controller, I coordinated the operations of four squadrons and 200 missile sites. While I served in the various missile assignments, I earned an Masters degree in Management (with my GI Bill benefits), which helped prepare me for my assignment as an AFROTC instructor at San Francisco State University. After teaching for one year, I decided to transition to a civilian career. As I made this change, I felt that I had gained a great deal from my time in the Air Force. A few of the things that I learned and valued were: a strong appreciation for the men and women who make significant sacrifices to help keep our country safe and secure; the importance of practicing strong financial and personnel management in both large and smalls organizations; and the value of having a clearly defined mission statement, a vision of what you want to accomplish, a well-thought-out plan and a strong commitment to work hard to accomplish your goals. I found the experiences from my time in the Air Force to be both meaningful and rewarding. The skills that I learned were easily transferable to a variety of other roles which provided me with a great foundation that I used throughout my professional career and in my personal life."
"After graduation, I was able to stay with my current national advocacy employer (The Arc of the U.S.) for many years. What was I taught? First, I learned what a fantastic university UNO is for working with me to complete my degree. My job taught me the importance and value of local, state and national advocacy for people with disabilities. Thank you, UNO for the opportunity to enhance my job security over the years of my working life.”
"After graduation I attended Air Force Officer Training School and was commissioned a 2Lt. Thus, I began another eleven years in my Air Force career, and eventually retired as a Captain with 26.5 years of service.”
“I became a licensed stockbroker at TD Ameritrade (Charles Schwab), and because of my internship, I was promoted into a specialist role in New Client Services. It taught me that at different phases in life, I will have to make sacrifices in order to prioritize what matters most. I also learned how important it is to be in an environment that has resources to support learning and development. I’m now a senior manager of the internship program at Schwab and work on nationwide strategy.”
“I had been working part-time at a self-storage facility in Lincoln during college. After graduation, I was promoted to a full-time facility manager position. All the late-night studying and long hours I put in at the self-storage facility taught me that perseverance pays off. Becoming the facility manager wasn’t my dream job, but earning my bachelor’s degree was very important to me, and that job helped me pay my way through college.”
