NSU Horizons Spring/Summer 2009

spotlight L ife in a war zone can be emotionally and physically demand- ing. Active members of the U.S. Army are often bogged down by long hours and the near constant anxiety of being in harm’s way. For Jason Brushingham, a sergeant first class with the Army National Guard, war-time challenges also included the pursuit of his Master’s in Business Administration degree. “I wanted to finish it. I had been working toward my master’s degree for a long time,” said Brushingham. And his hard work has paid off. As the culmination of a journey that began in 2002, Brush- ingham, 33, will graduate from the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University this spring. While the M.B.A. program can be completed in as little as 12 months, family and career re- sponsibilities prolonged gradu- ation for this married father of two young children. Among the obstacles he faced were two long deployments with the National Guard, the most recent assign- ment sending him to Iraq for a 10-month tour that ended in May 2008. It was during that stretch, based in a combat zone, that Brushingham completed his final two M.B.A. courses. “If I had any personal or free time, it was spent working on coursework or corresponding with my family,” said Brushing- ham, who is now stationed at the National Guard Armory in Fort Worth, Texas. But finding free time was not an easy feat. Stationed in the southern part of Iraq with the 3rd Battalion 144th Infantry Regiment, Brushingham’s priority was to properly equip five com- panies of soldiers. He often worked seven days a week, sometimes 12 to 14 hours a day. Days off were few and far between. “Our job was to make sure the soldiers had everything they were supposed to have and that each soldier was properly trained to use the correct systems that were requisitioned for a mission,” said Brushingham, who has been with the Guard for 15 years. But at least two nights each week, Brushingham would get a few hours off duty when he could concentrate on his Huizenga School coursework. The school’s executive-style M.B.A. program accommodates working professionals, like Brushingham, by offering classes online at different times of the day, making it possible for students anywhere in the world to complete the program. For Brushingham, that meant studying in cramped quarters that were no more than 8 feet wide and 15 feet long. He said the work was actually a welcome distraction for him after spending hours each day focused on military tasks. “To be able to go back to your room and just leave that for a few hours to focus on something else was great,” he said. To participate in the M.B.A. program’s live chat sessions, Brushingham would have to stay awake until three o’clock in the morning, which was evening time in the United States. He let his professors and classmates know that there might be times when he would suddenly disappear from the chat to deal with issues that could be as urgent as incoming enemy fire. “We actually had mortar attacks during one conference call. Bombs were coming in while we were talking. It was a surreal situation,” he said. Brushingham enrolled at NSU through GoArmyEd, a military program in which NSU participates that provides soldiers with access to more than 100 degree plans at regionally accredited colleges and universi- ties. Using advanced technology, GoArmyEd enables soldiers to study at times when their respon- sibilities, schedules, and duty as- signments allow. Stephanie Zedlar, Ed.D., direc- tor of military affairs with NSU, said there are many service per- sonnel who use NSU as their host school for their studies. Many of these students are based in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Korea. They range from privates to higher ranking soldiers and are working toward undergraduate and mas- ter’s degrees. “Most of them are very motivated to complete their studies because they are doing it for advancement within the mili- tary, or they are looking toward what they want to do when they separate from the service,” she said. But even with his degree, Brushingham isn’t headed for corpo- rate America just yet. He plans to serve another 12 years in the National Guard, incorporating into his military duties the business philosophy, leadership, and interpersonal skills he learned while earning his M.B.A. As he prepares for another likely deployment this year, Brush- ingham said his long road to an M.B.A. is proof positive that it can be done under the toughest circumstances. “All it takes is good time management, discipline, and dedication,” he said. Visit www.nova.edu/business for more information about NSU’s M.B.A. programs. Visit www.GoArmyEd.com for more information about the GoArmyEd program. n Lessons from the Field: Making the Grade in Iraq By Julie Levin 30 horizons Jason Brushingham, M.B.A. student