Warrior in the Trenches with Alejandro Villanueva, Professional Football Player
On this episode of The Adrenaline Zone, hosts James “Sandy” Winnefeld and Sandra Magnus are joined by Alejandro Villanueva, Professional Football Player and former Army Ranger.
Many young men dream of the opportunity to play in the NFL, and spend their whole lives training to become a professional athlete. For Alejandro, a career in football was an unexpected means to achieving a very different dream: earning his MBA.
After graduating from West Point, becoming an Army Ranger, and completing several tours in Afghanistan, Alejandro still had his sights set on higher education, but he needed a way to pay for schooling. Rather than taking out loans or spending years putting money away, he decided to give life as an NFL offensive tackle a try.
What started as a plan to play for just one year and earn enough money for business school became a seven-year-long career. He played for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens; and in that seven-year period, Alejandro did in fact earn an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.
Alejandro’s ambition was matched only by his courage to pursue his ambitions at all costs. Reward only comes to those willing to risk it all for success.
Resources:
Pittsburgh Steelers - LinkedIn
NFL - LinkedIn
US Army - LinkedIn
Sandra Magnus - Twitter
This episode is sponsored by Dunkin’.
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