How Darden Veterans Carry Forward the Spirit of Leadership

Before ever setting foot in an MBA classroom, these students already knew what it meant to lead under pressure.

From aircraft carrier flight decks to the deserts of the Middle East, military veterans enrolled at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business learned that leadership means showing up not only for the mission, but also for each other.

This Veterans Day, the Darden community honors the students whose paths to business leadership began in service to the country. Of the 355 students in the Full-Time MBA Class of 2026, 82 are U.S. military veterans or partners, joined by additional veterans in Darden’s Executive and Part-Time MBA programs.

The Darden Report spoke with six members of the Darden Military Association (DMA) to learn more about their journeys.

Gibson Montgomery (Marines)

Montgomery grew up hearing stories about service from his uncle and grandfather, both long-time Marines. He commissioned as an infantry officer, later serving in Marine Special Operations as a team commander and battalion operations officer with deployments to Australia, Japan and the Middle East.

A key lesson from his time in the Marines was learning through mistakes, his own and those of others. “I have made a ton of mistakes throughout my career, but I do my best not to make the same one twice,” he says. Montgomery believes leadership means giving people room to grow.

He chose Darden to step into a new world, and to create space for family. The transition has felt supportive and human. As Veterans Day was approaching, he says his mind goes to his former teammates, especially those still serving overseas, and the gratitude he feels for them and their families.

Billy Cremins (Army)

Cremins’ path to service was shaped early, as his dad was a public-school teacher, his mom grew up in Indonesia, and service and adventure were familiar parts of life. After graduating from West Point, he became a CH-47F Chinook pilot, serving in North Carolina, Afghanistan and Hawaii.

He credits much of what he learned to the teams he served with, noting that no challenge is impossible when people trust one another. “No challenge is too big or too daunting for an amazing team,” he says.

After eight years and multiple moves, his family was ready to settle, and Charlottesville felt right. The DMA played an important role before and after his arrival, and he describes it as a source of steady support. Reflecting on his service, Cremins emphasizes gratitude for the people he served with and the experiences that shaped him.

Chris Boyle (Army)

Boyle served as a third-generation Army pilot, flying aerial reconnaissance missions. Commissioning during the Great Recession provided both opportunity and purpose. The transition out of the Army, particularly after a medical separation, required rebuilding what identity looked like.

His wife founded a pediatric speech therapy clinic during his service, and seeing the impact of that work led them to start New River Legacy Partners, a search fund focused on acquiring and growing a pediatric therapy clinic. He notes that learning the language of business at Darden has been essential to that work.

Boyle describes the veteran community at Darden as grounding, a place where experiences don’t need to be explained and showing up honestly is enough.

Josh Xu (Navy)

Xu spent seven years as a submariner after graduating from the Naval Academy, managing nuclear reactors, operations and weapons aboard the USS Georgia and Submarine Squadron 12.

He was drawn to serve to give back and pursue a path that felt different from the traditional.

A moment that stays with him, which came after completing his first deployment, was celebrating with his peers and recognizing how resilience and teamwork carried them through challenges. That experience shapes how he approaches collaboration at Darden.

He has been energized by the transition and has found the community to be supportive in ways that feel familiar from his time in the Navy.

Trase Stapley (Army)

Stapley attended the U.S. Military Academy to continue his family’s legacy of service. He went on to fly Apache helicopters and serve in leadership roles including platoon leader, company commander and battalion operations officer across Alabama, Alaska and Texas.

He approaches leadership simply: people first. “People are the core of every organization,” he says, and helping others reach their potential is central to how he works and learns.

Stapley chose Darden for its culture and the strong veteran community, which has helped make the transition into business school feel supportive and familiar.

Natalie Crow (Navy)

Crow commissioned through the Naval Academy and served as a Nuclear Surface Warfare Officer, alternating between overseeing weapons systems on a destroyer and managing nuclear reactors on an aircraft carrier. She was born in Santiago, Chile, and was adopted by an American family at birth. Service became a way of giving back to the country that shaped her life.

During her last operational tour, she was diagnosed with Cushing’s Disease, leading to neurosurgery, radiation and eventual medical retirement. The experience changed how she defines success, now focusing on being present and intentional. Crow continues her medical care at UVA, which made Charlottesville the right place for her family.

She was drawn to Darden’s tight-knit community and a culture that reflects a Maya Angelou line she holds close: “People will never forget how you made them feel.”