Some people come to ESTEEM from military service because they want to try something new or because they see the program as the right next step for the course they’re already on.
Nathan Miller (ESTEEM '18) majored in systems engineering at the Naval Academy, served on a submarine for several years after he graduated in 2011, and came to Notre Dame to teach physics and thermodynamics to Navy ROTC students. He was considering an MBA when he found ESTEEM.
“The ESTEEM Program piqued my interest because it was new – how do you start things, how do you do new things?” Nate says. “Everything was procedural on the submarine. In that high-risk environment, everything is by the book, no creativity encouraged. I wanted to stop off, to get into new things in technology or engineering after I left the Navy and went into the workforce.”
Nate got into bitcoin and cryptocurrency technology and did his capstone with Consensus Networks in South Bend, a startup blockchain technology company. He transitioned out of the Navy soon after he graduated and has worked as CEO of Consensus ever since.
“It’s been a cool process to do the cycle again and be involved here in the South Bend community making something,” he says.
Daniel Kervick Jr. (ESTEEM '19) studied Economics and Arabic at Villanova University. After graduating in 2009, he started a fintech company that was acquired. In 2010 he joined the US Navy and worked in support of counter-terrorism operations until 2016.
After that, he decided to start Flagship Management, which leverages technology in field service. The company’s name and logo nod both to his naval service and to the firm’s commitment to provide meaningful work for veterans, who suffer disproportionate unemployment in the technology economy.
Dan left an MBA program to come to ESTEEM because he saw the advantages of the entrepreneurial education. “Notre Dame and ESTEEM have materially impacted the success of my business,” he says. “ESTEEM gave me the tools to set this company on a safe course.”