By Margo Myers
Margo Myers Communications
Daniel Mwangi is a high achiever with a plan. After serving in the U.S. Army in aviation maintenance, he is now a financial analyst with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Kansas City, Missouri. He credits his master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Brandman University on the Joint Base Lewis McChord campus in 2013 as a big part of his success.
Mwangi already had a bachelor’s degree in Corporate Finance from Southwest Minnesota State University, and wanted to build on that knowledge. “I knew I needed to improve my people skills and also understand how to channel human capital into sustainable long term profits for any organization I worked for,” says Mwangi. “I chose HR, and my degree has helped me a lot. My HR skills help me navigate through many situations, allowing me to take on leadership to ensure we get to a ‘yes’ with zero conflict. The people skills I learned are immensurable.”
Mwangi also wanted a specific type of learning experience. As ‘active military,’ he needed a university that offered classes that wouldn’t interfere with his military duty and missions. He also says he didn’t want to repeat what he had seen happen to others after they were halfway done with their degree, and then were told to go online full-time or travel to a campus located miles away. “I chose Brandman because they are military friendly, located on base, and they worked relentlessly to ensure service members were accommodated as much as possible,” Mwangi says.
Mwangi also credits his Brandman professors, including Dr. Arron Grow and Dr. Ben Lastimado, with making a lasting impact. “Dr. Ben was an amazing instructor,” says Mwangi. “He connected life experiences and tailored them into classroom teachings, igniting the thought process with real life stories, and instructional models that painted a picture that textbooks could not. He taught us how to put wheels onto the wagon of professional, academic and personal life.”
Mwangi shares advice for others who are considering advanced college degrees, stating that it’s not easy, but also isn’t hard if it helps you achieve your dream career. “Ask yourself what do I love doing, what career would make me happy if I did it for 60 years,” advises Mwangi. “Remember it’s not all about the money, but attaining a degree that will bring total life satisfaction and happiness.”
As for future career plans, Mwangi is dreaming big. He plans to use his knowledge and experience as a public servant on a global platform. “Having been born and raised in Africa, I have seen what lack of housing, poor urban planning, lack of people skills, poor management of finances and resources can do to young kids who are in their formative years,” says Mwangi. “I want to use my knowledge on housing and urban development to help ensure we have tomorrow’s generations bristling with hope, and I want to one day work with United Nations Human Settlements Program.”
And this ambitious life-long learner takes one of Lastimado’s lessons to heart; a lesson all of us could share. “He taught me not to wait to get to the peak of my career to see the world and its vast eternity, but to look and see the world as it is, to enjoy the view as well as the challenges,” says Mwangi. “Most importantly, he taught us not to forget life lessons that still humble us and make us human.”