Veteran Success Stories

Empowering, Educating, and Honoring Those Who Serve

Each year, the Gabelli School of Business receives an impressive number of applications from U.S. military veterans and active military personnel who choose to earn their degree in a business-related field. Their stories are inspirational and are a testament to the transformative education we provide and the career-focused resources and services we deliver.

Terri Kershaw Buck ‘24

Ethics Counselor, U.S. Department of the Interior

Terri Kershaw Buck is a veteran of the United States Navy, who has over 21 years of both active duty and civilian military experience. She pursued a professional path in positions of increasing responsibility in military related jobs, working for the Naval Sea Systems Command; the Defense Technical Information Center; the Defense Intelligence Agency while on active duty; and at Synchon, LLC after she retired. She currently serves as an ethics counselor in the U.S. Department of the Interior, where she researches and interprets government ethics related laws, regulations, guidelines, and oversight to ensure ethical standards and compliance with regulations are upheld, including those involving financial disclosure.

As her career advanced, she has strived to gain the business knowledge and leadership skills required to continue her professional ascent by enrolling in the Executive M.B.A. program at the Gabelli School. She immediately connected with the School’s focus on having an ethical impact on business, as well as the ability to earn her degree by studying in New York City, just one weekend a month. The knowledge and skills she gained have been immediately applicable in her current role. Her experience also has solidified what she already knew about being a strong leader: that building capacity must be complemented by personal growth, and that you must understand the needs and strengths of the people whom you lead to make a lasting difference and inspire meaningful change at any level in government and beyond.

Assane Diouf

Senior Cost Accountant, Asensus Surgical

Assane Diouf had three years of experience as a staff accountant at WeWork when he decided to enlist in the United States Army. Stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, he served as a procurement manager, which required him to move out of his comfort zone and into a role that challenged him to be adaptable while also providing the opportunity to hone his problem-solving skills. He learned to work collaboratively and to manage large-scale projects—both of which have proved to be invaluable competencies throughout his career.

When he returned to civilian life, he immediately began to explore the ways in which he could expand his knowledge and grow his network to ensure he would be able to fulfill his long-term career ambitions. He enrolled in the M.S. in Accounting program at the Gabelli School of Business, which ultimately helped him to realize he wanted to pursue a career path working in organizations where he could make a real difference. After securing accounting positions at Southern Energy Management, Covenant Holdings, and RR Donnelly, he decided to return to school to earn an M.B.A. He is currently earning his degree while simultaneously fulfilling his commitment to building a meaningful career as a senior cost accountant for Asensus Surgical, a robotics company, which is advancing technology and pioneering new laparoscopic surgical techniques.

Nathan Green ‘24

Environmental Specialist, New York State Department of Transportation

Nathan Green is an environmental specialist and a veteran of the United States Air Force, with over 20 years of distinguished service as a military officer and civilian meteorologist. As a combat veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom, he honed his skills in weather forecasting, and aviation weather support and intelligence in diverse and challenging environments—both domestically and abroad. Upon his return to civilian life, he applied his technical skills to help companies transform how consumers, businesses, and governments use weather data and technology to mitigate losses due to weather hazards while focusing on business growth. He now specializes in conducting technical analysis, research, and training focused on the intersection of the environment and transportation networks within the New York State Department of Transportation. Green was drawn to the Gabelli School of Business Executive M.B.A. program because it fulfilled a lifelong desire to continuously strive for personal and professional development, satisfying his innate curiosity for learning new skills and immersing himself in new experiences—all of which have shaped his mindset and his outlook on the world. Through his work in the classroom and in Seoul, Korea for the class’s capstone project, he made lasting relationships with fellow students and developed the business acumen and critical thinking skills that will help him prosper in his career and in his life and allow him to build upon his decades of military experience.

Douglas Quimby, Jr.

Vice President, Compliance, Conduct, and Operational Risk Division, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Douglas Quimby, Jr. is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, whose calling to serve from a young age, was inspired by his grandfather, a World War II veteran. During his time in the military, Quimby thrived as an infantry squad leader and marksmanship instructor. Upon his return to civilian life, he worked in business development for a smart home company, but ultimately decided to pursue a B.A. in Organizational Leadership within the School of Professional Studies at Fordham University, through the encouragement of his wife who is an alumna of the program.

The strong veteran community, and supportive staff and faculty members at Fordham helped him to realize his potential as a natural leader with innate analytical abilities. This ultimately led to his pursuing an M.B.A. at the Gabelli School of Business, during which a global immersion trip to Argentina, with his M.B.A. cohort, opened his mind to the possibilities of pursuing an impactful career in business. The program’s comprehensive coursework and the two summer internships he completed at JPMorgan Chase & Co. helped to prepare him for the positions of increasing responsibility he has held in the company’s Compliance, Conduct, and Operational Risk Division. He currently serves as its vice president and has substantially expanded its headcount and its capacity to manage risk and uphold compliance.

Quimby’s success has not deterred him from helping others and giving back to the veteran community. He is currently the co-chair of the tri-state business resource group for veterans at JPMorgan Chase and is spearheading a number of initiatives that have had a positive impact on veterans including providing them with access to resources and support and raising public awareness of and appreciation for their service.  

Matthew Roberts

FOS Real Estate Tax, EY

Matthew Roberts is a United States Marine Corps veteran and a double Ram who currently works in real estate tax at EY, having combined his experience serving in the military with the knowledge and skills he acquired earning a B.S. in Finance and an M.S. in Accounting to prepare him for a successful career that spans these areas of specialty. He chose the Gabelli School of Business because it enabled him to leverage the teamwork and communication skills he gained while serving in the Marines, with providing a solid footing in the Jesuit values he holds dear.

Roberts is deeply committed to pursuing a life and a career path that is guided by a strong ethical compass and a desire to do good in the world. During his time at the Gabelli School he participated in the Responsible Business Leadership Certificate Program, which provided him with an understanding of how the principles of his education applied in real-life scenarios.  He credits this experience with shaping his career trajectory, demonstrating that you can do well and do good.

Before joining EY, Roberts worked as a purchasing analyst for Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, a financial counselor at the Bedford Stuyvesant Development Corporation, and a tax consultant for Baker Tilly. He also founded a consultancy that focused on veteran financial literacy. While he is now focusing on preparing to take the CPA exam and advance in his career at EY, he is also considering the potential for starting his own family business one day.

Anuar Romero ‘24

General Manager, Xylem

Anuar Romero is a United States Marine Corps veteran with 20+ years of service who, in 2020, had reached a crossroads in his personal and professional life. He decided to pursue a civilian career in the corporate world, parlaying his experience in logistics with the Marines into a role managing a logistics facility for Amazon. Knowing that he wanted to augment what he was learning in this new position, he decided to pursue an Executive M.B.A. at Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business to build upon his strengths as a former leader in the military and in the management career path he chose to take by acquiring the knowledge he needed to grow and thrive as a corporate executive.

Besides being attracted to the EMBA’s leadership focus, Romero appreciated the Gabelli School’s deep commitment to preparing the next generation of business professionals to become changemakers who could really make a difference, as well as its emphasis on sustainable business. Throughout his studies, he was able to connect the strengths he gained as a military officer—leadership, perseverance, and organization—to the knowledge and skills he was acquiring in the classroom. He also was deeply inspired by a study abroad experience to El Camino Ignaciano in Spain. Today, in his role as general manager at Xylem, a leading water technology company committed to “solving water” by creating innovative and smart technology solutions to meet the world’s water, wastewater, and energy needs, he is helping New York City respond to water emergencies in new and innovative ways.