“For me, part of why I joined the military was because I wanted to serve and I wanted to meaningfully serve,” he said. “The attacks gave another purpose to serving. For me, it was the hope that we could prevent anything like that from ever happening again.”

While deployed in Iraq, McElravy took the first steps to furthering his career through education. On base, over satellite internet, he applied for admission to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

“I took a class in leadership theory and I realized this is what I’m really interested in. I would say I consistently think about my experience as a supervisor and a leader in the military. Also, the experience I had with other leaders in the military is a reference point for my interest in studying leadership.”