Kayla Walsh - Flying From Helicopters to Harvard Business School

Tell us about yourself, Kayla!

Hometown: Elko, NV

What is your anticipated school and intended major? MBA at Harvard Business School

What did you do in the military? UH-60 "Blackhawk" Pilot

Fun fact about yourself: My husband, John Walsh, and I are both incoming candidates to Harvard Business School Class of 2026 and expecting our first baby this Spring! He's the one in the picture with me that I submitted. He was also a Blackhawk pilot and used S2S during the MBA admissions process.

What was the biggest benefit to using Service to School throughout the application process? My S2S's wise insight and advice for the overall MBA application process was essential to my journey and finding success in the MBA application cycles. Conversations with my Ambassador kept me focused, motivated, and on a timeline to achieve great final products for all my essays and portal responses with her prompt assistance and guidance for where I should start. My Ambassador’s help and feedback iterations were always faster, more thorough, and more prompt than I could have ever expected.

What are you most excited about in regards to starting school? I truly can't wait to get back into academia and learn from the diverse cohort in my MBA class.

What are your goals post-graduation? I hope to consult on operations strategy, ideally in the Clean Tech space.

Kayla’s advice for veterans who are applying to college: 

Once you have an idea of the path you hope to take post-service, find someone who's further along on that path, ideally a veteran from a similar MOS and background. Ask for 15 minutes of their time to learn what their experience has been working in that space. It's a good way to find out if that's what you truly want to do and learn from their experiences. Don't be afraid to cold email or message on LinkedIn. Most vets are more willing to take time to help each other out than you might expect!

After 8 years in the Army, I don't think I ever really stopped to reflect on my experience until the MBA application cycle. Having a peer slightly ahead of me in the journey to higher education helped me reflect and synthesize my experiences into impactful 400-900 word essays for each MBA application was invaluable in finding success in the admissions process.

Congrats again Kayla on your acceptance to Harvard Business School!