A Military Police Officer’s Route to Business Consulting

As Cameron “C.J.” Morgenweck, Online MBA ’22, was looking toward the next chapter after completing active military service in the U.S. Marine Corps, he wanted to pursue something new and fresh while also building on his experience.

Upon graduation from the United States Naval Academy, Morgenweck was commissioned as a United States Marine Corps Officer and was designated as a Military Police Officer. After serving for five years, he opted for a career transition to co-locate with his wife, an active-duty Navy physician, while also exploring new leadership opportunities.

“I wanted to take my military expertise into the business world, but I also wanted to have good credibility in the business space and understand everything from finance, accounting, and balance sheets to strategy and supply chain,” he says. He was still finishing up his active duty service when he was inspired to start his MBA. His choice was the Robert H. Smith School of Business Online MBA program to meet both his career goals and his schedule. His mother is also a Terp and encouraged Morgenweck to explore the University of Maryland.

“My command at the time was really helpful. I mean, my battalion commander even wrote me a letter of recommendation for the program. So, everyone was really supportive and it made sense with my timeframe,” he says.

Morgenweck concluded his uniformed service during his MBA program. The transition from military service to business was something he says the Office of Career Services (OCS) was crucial in helping him achieve. OCS helped to place him at Thermo Fisher Scientific where he would ultimately land a role at their Carlsbad site in California.

“The broader Office of Career Services could not have been more supportive or more awesome in helping a transitioning veteran.”  I wouldn’t have found that [job] without UMD.” Being in the Smith Online MBA program also made it possible to continue in the program while moving to the West Coast, allowing him the flexibility to sign up for classes that began around 8 p.m. ET which worked for the California time difference.

When Morgenweck’s wife received new orders to relocate to Maryland, Adam Shpall, assistant director of graduate career coaching at OCS, recommended he meet with Smith alumnus Paul C. Lee, MBA ’09, co-founder and partner at North Rock Consulting. Morgenweck was a little hesitant about a career in consulting, but Shpall encouraged him to meet with Lee anyway. Morgenweck says he immediately developed a rapport with Lee and other North Rock Consulting Terps.

“It was kind of a match made in heaven. They just happened to have a business process re-engineering role open at the time, which is basically what I did at Thermo Fisher and what my interest is in,” Morgenweck says. “Thanks to Adam for being like, hey, I know someone you need to talk to.”

Morgenweck is proud of the work he has accomplished and the support from the Smith School that helped him find the right opportunities that worked with his skills and experience.

“Both of my jobs, post-graduation, I landed because of [OCS]. They understand people just wanting a career change from transitioning from the military or the government,” he says. “So, if I was trying to give a piece of advice to someone at the Smith School, it would be to contact OCS.”