Serving those who served
Moving from the military to the corporate world can be a tough transition. But Rocky Belmonte (MBA '16) did just that when she ended her Army service as a chemical warfare specialist and expert grenadier.
Today, Belmonte uses the skills and network she gained from Quinlan's Executive MBA program to be a leader within a Fortune 500 industrial supply company and to support veterans in the workforce.
Balancing school and life
Upon leaving the Army, Belmonte set an ambitious goal for herself: she would earn an MBA before she turned 30, while also being present for her one-year-old child and husband. The Quinlan EMBA program supported exactly that.
"Quinlan's EMBA program gave me enough time to spend with my family, be with my career, and get my MBA," Belmonte said. "It was the perfect storm."
She also appreciated the convenience of taking classes on Loyola's Water Tower Campus, as she took the train from the suburbs into the city.
"The 85 minutes I was on that train, I was doing homework, readings, staying productive so I didn't miss out on family time at home," she said.
Sharing unique experiences
Once she arrived in the classroom, Belmonte joined a cohort of students who spent the duration of the program with one another. Belmonte found that this structure helped her network with and learn from her classmates and enabled her to share skills she learned in the military.
"Leading under pressure is a huge part of it. That pressure is something we in the military train on,” Belmonte said. "Sometimes when you're starting off or doing a bachelors or masters, you are going to feel that pressure. How to thrive even with this pressure was something I was able to take back to the group."
While in the cohort, students are broken into subgroups that rotate part way through the year, encouraging them to adjust to new faces and generate new ideas and connections. It's an experience Belmonte appreciated.
"It forced you to get to know other people in the cohort, and that was key for networking," Belmonte said. "The people in the cohort were diverse and lovely and came from different backgrounds and industries. I met my best friend in the Executive MBA program. It was special."
Spearheading veteran initiatives
Belmonte's EMBA helped her advance at Grainger to her current position as senior director of DC Operations Excellence, where she supports Grainger's North America distribution operations. Her team partners with more than 5,000 Grainger employees and works on functional support, business analytics, training, and standardization. She is also passionate about supporting veterans and is the president of Grainger's Veterans and Military Supporter Business Resource Group.
"Veterans have a very unique spot in society," Belmonte said. "We appreciate soldiers who defend our country, but as they're transitioning to civilian life, there's a drop off. I want to support veteran recruitment and retention into corporate America wherever I can."
Under Belmonte’s leadership, Grainger has donated nearly 2,000 toys to the Marine's Toys for Tots program, and partnered with Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships to spouses and children of fallen or disabled military. In Chicago, Belmonte planned Grainger’s first Memorial Day 5K run in 2022 at it's Forest Lake campus and a second in 2023. She also helped lead Grainger's Chicago-based employees through a volunteer event with the 9/11 Day Organization, where employees took a virtual tour of the World Trade Center site during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last three years, Belmonte has led volunteer events with the 9/11 day organization where her team packs meals and supports first responders. On top of all of this, Belmonte says she is continuing to push what she can do to support veterans.
"I'm always trying to come up with something new or outside the box," Belmonte said. "I'm passionate about supporting veterans and first responders."
Belmonte is also working to connect Grainger employees and active-duty military.
"A lot of what veterans appreciate is supporting the military today," Belmonte said.
