Brad Tatum with his wife Santina at his first of two graduate school graduations in 2012.

How I Leveraged my Post 9/11 GI Bill to Earn Two Master's Degrees With No Student Debt

Brad Tatum, MBA, MSML

Brad Tatum, MBA, MSML

Aeronautical Engineering Manager, Advanced Development Programs (The SkunkWorks) / Liaison Officer - 14th Marines

Published Feb 3, 2017

Brad Tatum 2/3/17

In June, 2010 I found myself suddenly out of a job, out of a direction for my life, and out of ideas as to what I type of career I wanted to pursue. In my head, I was going to spend at least twenty years as an active duty Marine, so I had never given other career options a moment of thought. Then, one summer morning after being deployed twice, having missed all four of our first four wedding anniversaries, missing two straight Christmases, three out of four of my wife's birthdays, and her graduation with her Master's degree I decided that my family was more important than my current career as a Marine, so I made the most difficult decision of my life and left active duty.

Just like many veterans, transition to civilian life was incredibly difficult for me as I struggled to find meaning in a job that had me sitting in a cubicle feeling as though my life was wasting away every day. One of the most difficult things to come to terms with when transitioning from the military as an officer is going from being trusted with tremendous responsibility to being trusted with almost no responsibility in a civilian job. In 2010, the Post 9/11 GI Bill was very new, and finding good information about how to use it was challenging - especially for someone who already had a bachelor's degree and was looking to pursue a Master's program of some kind. The one thing that was clear was that the GI Bill was set up to support enlisted troops to earn a bachelor's degree post-service, as the tuition match covers the most expensive in-state school's undergraduate tuition. There was also this mysterious Yellow Ribbon Program that everyone was aware of, but no one could tell me how it worked or how much any given school would match (The Yellow Ribbon Program is a scholarship that the VA offers on top of the GI Bill benefit by matching up to 50% of the difference between the school's tuition and the maximum GI Bill benefit in that state, with the university covering the other portion of the scholarship). In California, in 2010, the maximum in-state tuition was just over $17k, and there was not a Master's program to be found that came remotely close to that rate. This left me, sitting in my cubicle, feeling even more stuck and more frustrated than ever before.

Realizing that trying to research my options online was only getting me so far, I started calling, and then visiting every university in Southern California. Some told me they didn't really want veterans on campus, others told me they had no idea if their universities even offered the Yellow Ribbon Program. After visiting just about every UC and Cal State school in the San Diego and LA area, I was still no further into finding a solution. Finally, I got in touch with a counselor at USC who said they participated in the Yellow Ribbon Program, but they only offered 25% of the balance - and with the VA matching another 25% I would have still been on the hook for 50% of the tuition difference between $17k and $100k, and that was $43k that I didn't have, so again I was stuck.

Honestly, I don't remember exactly how, or when, I decided to visit Pepperdine's Irvine Campus, but I dropped in late one afternoon and met with an incredibly gracious and helpful counselor named Michelle who told me that Pepperdine was an institution that fully embraced veterans and wanted to give back to veterans by offering a full 50% match on the Yellow Ribbon Program, meaning I could earn my MBA there with no out of pocket tuition, while being paid Malibu housing allowances because the VA's calculation is based off the main campus of a given university. I was ecstatic. Finally, after months of feeling like my professional life had no purpose, I found a guiding light. Pepperdine offered several options for the pace of the Fully Employed MBA, and in order to get the maximum benefit from the GI Bill I chose the most aggressive full-time course load that went year-round for two years. If I had chosen a different path, the amounts I would have received for housing and the base benefit would have been reduced. Recognizing that the Post 9/11 GI Bill offers veterans 36 months of full-time benefit (the equivalent amount of time an undergraduate student would spend in a traditional semester-based curriculum to earn a bachelor's degree), and being in a two-year MBA program full-time I knew that I'd likely be leaving a whole year's worth of benefit (and more importantly, that Malibu housing allowance) on the table, but I felt the degree was worth it and Pepperdine was where I wanted to be because of how welcome I felt as a student veteran.

Challenging as it was to work full-time, then drive over an hour to campus two-to-three nights a week for four hours of class and an hour drive home and then maybe another hour of studying prior to calling it a night, I developed a good rhythm and looked forward to class. It was a much needed escape from my back corner cubicle (where the floor sloped down and away from my desk so I was constantly pulling myself back to it) and I committed myself fully to my education. It became clear to me very early in the program that I was in a group of very talented people, all of whom had been in some sort of business role for years, whereas I had no business background whatsoever. Recognizing that I was behind the power curve relative to them, I committed myself to graduating at the very top of my class in an effort to increase my competitiveness in the job market. The dedication to my education was cathartic, it gave me purpose again as I recognized that the skills developed in the Marines made me naturally excel in the coursework. One of my peers once asked me how I could stay so calm and collected when everyone knew our Econ professor never gave anyone an A because he was so hard on students. I responded by stating, "Unless he comes in the classroom with an AK-47 aimed at me, or an IED is hidden under my seat I just don't find him or the class very stressful." My experiences in Iraq helped shape things in my mind for what they were, and knowing that I had been in more difficult situations than a test for a graduate class on a Tuesday night kept me level-headed and focused throughout the whole program. I also used my experiences to teach leadership principles to my peers, and beyond that I found a voice, literally and figuratively, by writing for the Graziadio Voice - the official blog of Pepperdine's business school. I was on a roll.

I graduated in December of 2012 with my MBA, and I had achieved the goal I set for myself. I was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society and had a GPA of 3.9. I was happy, relieved, and at the same time I had the same "what now?" feeling I had after leaving active duty. In the weeks leading up to graduation, I started asking one of my professors, who was also the associate dean, about a new program Pepperdine was offering - the Masters of Science in Management and Leadership. It was also a two-year program, and it was in its infancy. Looking into it, I saw that most of the pre-requisite courses I had already taken in the MBA program, and that if structured correctly and aggressively, the remaining coursework could be done in 12 months - which was exactly how many months of GI Bill I had remaining. So in the weeks after graduation, I worked with the same wonderful Pepperdine staff who had taken such great care of me over the past two years (I never had a gap in housing allowance nor any issues certifying my enrollment with the VA because of the hard work of two outstanding Pepperdine staff - Lesbiz and Desiree) and enrolled in the new program with the same goal set for myself to learn as much as I could and graduate at the top of the class. My MBA friends all thought I was nuts (some I am sure still do), but I couldn't let the opportunity to continue to grow myself pass me by and besides, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life beyond school so I figured another year of class would buy me some time to figure that out. It was another fun and challenging program, and I increased my network of peers greatly and built strong relationships with my professors and the Graziadio School leadership like the dean and associate dean. Also, I helped lay the groundwork for a veteran's alumni organization as well as spoke at several Meet and Greet events for Pepperdine veteran students and alumni. I wanted every veteran to know just how valuable the GI Bill could be if they found a school like Pepperdine that welcomed them and allowed them to flourish and challenge themselves.

Fast forward to December, 2013 when I walked across the stage, received my degree, and shook Dean Livingstone's hand for the second time and I was finally mentally ready to take on a new chapter in my career (and get out of that sloped cubicle!!). Three years of hard work (none of which would have been possible without the love and support from my wife) and about $230k worth of education and housing later, I was able to make a career move into a meaningful role with a fantastic team where I employ my education on a daily basis.

I would not be where I am today if it weren't for the incredible graciousness and support I received from the Pepperdine community. Even with the GI Bill, I would have never been able to afford that type of education without the Yellow Ribbon Program, and I cannot thank the university enough for everything it provided me, and not only in my education, but by giving me a purpose again.

Moral of the story for you transitioning veterans, do your due diligence before you pick a university. The VA sees no difference between using your 36 months of benefit at a community college or an Ivy League institution. The Post 9/11 GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon Program can be a life-changer if employed properly and coupled with an institution that welcomes and challenges you.

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