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Craig Massello: Returning to a career in the military
When he graduated from Katz in May 2008, Craig Massello, a lieutenant commander in the United States Coast Guard, was reassigned to Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C., to serve as an aviation platform manager overseeing the engineering, systems upgrades, and budget for one of the Coast Guard's main airframes.
Massello's career with the Coast Guard began at age 17 when, just out of high school, he entered the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. In 1995, he received a BS in mathematics and computer science. What followed was an 11-year career progression that brought Massello to his most recent duties as an engineering officer and a HH-60J "Jayhawk" helicopter instructor pilot, based out of Clearwater, Florida. During his tour of duty in 2005, Massello and the air and maintenance crews of Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater played a critical role in the evacuation of thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims from Mississippi and Louisiana.
Massello took advantage of a Coast Guard program that affords active duty members a chance to pursue an advanced degree. He completed his dual MBA/MS-Industrial Engineering (IE) program at Katz. Masello said the program was exactly what he had been looking for. "The joint MBA/MSIE program has been a great fit in preparing me for my future duties in the Coast Guard.The core curriculum has done well to mesh basic managerial and technical skills, while the elective courses have provided me the flexibility to pursue my own specific interests," Massello said. "Overall, the program has been challenging yet enjoyable and has given me the insight and ability necessary to move forward in my military career."
