This time last year, all of Monica and Caleb John’s goals revolved around the Army—as they had since the pair met at the US Military Academy Preparatory School as D1 athletes.
But by spring of 2025, Monica John 27MBA had been medically discharged due to knee injuries incurred as a triple jumper for track, and Caleb John 27MBA would soon follow suit with sports-related injuries of his own. With the return to civilian life rapidly approaching—the couple made the decision to pivot and ended up securing the last two spots in the class of 2027 in Goizueta Business School’s full-time MBA program.
“Our entire adult life has been military,” says Caleb about their decision to join the full-time MBA program. “We wanted to throw ourselves around a group of people with really diverse experiences and backgrounds to stretch our minds.”
Meet Cute at West Point
If you ask Monica and Caleb how they met, you’ll get two different stories. Monica claims she first noticed Caleb after basic training, when he stood up to introduce himself in a professional development class. Caleb, however, recalls them meeting under different circumstances.
Caleb admits that he had no concept of what West Point and the military really meant as an 18-year-old. Whereas both of Monica’s parents served in the Navy, Caleb’s family was from the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. As a first-generation American, Caleb grew up in poverty in the greater Washington, D.C. area and came to West Point to play football. Both he and Monica attended the preparatory school for one year prior to officially starting classes at West Point; this gap year helps athletes prepare mentally and physically for the rigor of being not only college athletes, but also Army cadets.
Those first few weeks of prep school were a culture shock for Caleb, and he came very close to quitting. Then one day, Monica approached him and scolded him for even thinking about leaving—so he didn’t.
The two became friends, then started dating, and finally married in 2022. Now, they are full-time graduate students. They’ve followed each other from prep school, to West Point, through the demands of the Army, and now to Atlanta. Next, they’ll both head to Charlotte for the summer for their internships with Bank of America. Monica will be working in human resources, and Caleb will be in strategy management.
Redefining Service Beyond the Uniform
In the Army, Caleb worked as signal intelligence officer, and Monica worked as an armor officer. She was part of one the first cohorts of women to serve in this area of the Army and was surprised by how much she enjoyed training as a tank commander and operating the heavy machinery.
But the years of track and military service took a toll on Monica’s knees. She was told to start considering a new career—and leave the Army—or face double knee replacements by the age of 35.
Through that experience, my passion and empathy for people grew. My passion for helping people grew. I started trying to find how I could take that interest and put it into the corporate world.
Monica John 27MBA
She left the Army, earned her personal training certificate, and started an online business. At the same time, Caleb discovered he would also soon be medically separated from the Army.
The Johns share more than an academic and career history: They also aspire to do the same thing in life. First, they dedicated themselves to serving their country, and now, they are driven by a desire to help others.
“The more time I spent around the leaders at West Point, the more I realized I wanted to be like them,” recalls Caleb. “Being in a place of leadership, you have the opportunity to help people.”
His head football coach at West Point used to say, “Do right, do your best, and show people you care.” This motto stuck with Caleb as he began leading units in the Army. Before he left his car every workday, he’d repeat this mantra to himself.
While leading a particularly challenged unit, Caleb faced an uphill battle to gain the trust and respect of his subordinates. But with this motto as his mission, he ultimately succeeded. When he left the Army, he received calls and texts from several members of that unit who decided to stay in the Army because of the leadership example that Caleb demonstrated: They wanted to be the same kind of leader for others.
Finding Their Next Mission at Goizueta
The Johns flew from Fort Hood, Texas, where they were most recently stationed, to Atlanta to attend the Service Academy Career Conference. This networking event connects alumni from the military branch academy schools with potential employment and academic opportunities. Goizueta had a representative join one of the panels at the conference. That’s where the Johns learned about Goizueta’s full-time MBA program as well as Emory University’s Veterans Association.
With his desire to help and problem-solve, Caleb was considering becoming a college football coach. But after sharing his goal with several mentors, he was encouraged to pursue an MBA, and he encouraged Monica to do the same.
Monica first thought she’d get her MBA to help solidify her footing with her new business, by learning all that she could about being an entrepreneur. Her ultimate goal is to create a human performance company, but she’s also interested in human resources and people management. Caleb’s dream is to be a general manager for an NFL team.
The idea of business is so broad. I can take my experiences filtered through a Goizueta MBA, and the world is my oyster. I can do almost anything.
Caleb John 27MBA
“The military teaches you so much,” says Caleb. “West Point taught us so much. Football taught me so much. Being able to go through an MBA is like, ‘I have all the tools in my toolbox.’ Now I just figure out what I want to make with them.”
Veterans Honoring Veterans Day
This year, the Johns are honoring Veterans Day as veterans for the first time, but the meaning of this day is the same to them every year: It’s an opportunity to honor and remember those who were willing to serve their country and the people standing beside them.
A lot of times in military service, it starts with “I want to serve my country,” but you end up just being really passionate about serving the person next to you.
Caleb John
It’s a theme he sees at Emory with the Veterans Association and within Goizueta, from the faulty serving the students and the students serving one another.
“Being a veteran, you start to get this concept really ingrained in you of the importance of servitude and serving one another,” he says. “You want to make a career out of it. You have no choice but to become passionate about serving people.”
While Caleb was at West Point, he called several of the leaders “superheroes” because of the things they’d done, but also because of how they served others. The good leadership he witnessed drove him to make a similar impact.
“Even though I wasn’t excited about the military and they scared me at first, I had the opportunity to impact people’s lives, and that’s beautiful,” says Caleb.
Monica’s parents encouraged their children to do something impactful, greater than themselves. For Monica, that meant fully committing to West Point and what came after. “Out of all the offers I had, West Point was the only offer that was something bigger than me.”
In the Army’s Combat Arms branch, Monica says being among the first few groups of women to serve in that capacity gave her the chance to pave the way for others like her.
“I think one word that describes Veterans Day is selflessness,” says Monica.
“Everyone made a sacrifice to do something dangerous for the safety and well-being of friends, family, and country,” echoes Caleb.
“Also, Go, Army! Beat Navy.”
Inspired by Monica and Caleb’s story of service, leadership, and reinvention? Explore how Goizueta supports veterans and future business leaders through the Full-Time MBA and Master in Business for Veterans programs.
