Army Ranger takes on a new mission

The 75th Ranger Regiment (aka the Army Rangers) is one of the U.S. Army’s most elite units. That’s exactly why Jack Austin ’25 (MBA) joined them.

For seven years, the Army was Austin’s life. He joined after earning a bachelor’s degree in business from Arizona State University in 2016. After serving in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Austin later was selected to join the Rangers as an infantry officer.

“I will always be appreciative of the skills, the relationships and the experiences I had in the Army. I grew up a lot during that time,” he says. “Coming out of Afghanistan, I looked at everything that I set out to do in the military and all of my goals and felt like I was able to check that box and close that chapter in my life. That’s when I started laying the groundwork for my MBA. I had all these business aspirations that had been on hold. I said to myself, ‘Man, let’s just go ahead and realize some of those.’”

(Submitted photo)

Transitioning from the military is rarely easy but continuing his business education was Austin’s next mission. Austin enrolled in the Full-Time MBA Program at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School right after his service ended.

“I had people in the past tell me that I could always go and do an MBA, and honestly I didn’t think I knew exactly all that entailed,” he says. “And when I learned about the opportunities that come with an MBA, I said, ‘OK, this is it. This is the endgame. This is what I need.’”

As Austin learned, the UNC Kenan-Flagler, and especially its MBA Programs, have a strong reputation for supporting active duty military, veterans and their families through groups such as the UNC Kenan-Flagler Veterans Association. For the past several years, military-affiliated students have made up about 10% of the school’s overall MBA enrollment.

“What really drew me to UNC was that I kept on hearing how collaborative everybody is and how willing they are to help one another,” he says. “That support has been instrumental for someone like me coming from something you knew for so long and into something so different and so unknown. It’s a different world, but it’s one that’s easy to walk through with so many people by your side.”

Austin quickly came into his own at UNC Kenan-Flagler. A Vetter’s Dean Fellow, he served as vice president of private wealth management in the UNC Investment Management Club and landed a summer internship with JPMorgan Chase’s private bank in Atlanta.

“At UNC Kenan-Flagler, you’re going to get an absolutely incredible experience with some of the smartest people you’re ever going to meet,” says Austin. “You’re going to have the whole community behind you and they’re going to push you to help you become the best version of yourself.”

That summer internship led to a full-time job as a banker at JPMorgan Private Bank in Atlanta. There, after moving six times in seven years, he can finally settle down with his wife, Julia, and start the family they’ve long wanted. That’s the next challenge that Austin is more than ready for.

“Here’s when some of the turbulence stops, and here’s where we can start enjoying things a little bit more,” says Austin. “The ball is in my hand for the next step. I get to shape it however I want.”