Growing up in Lomita, California, Sharon Ehasz had a lot to look up to—both figuratively and literally. Her family’s extensive military background lent her many role models for applying the desire she felt to serve something greater than herself. But it was her passion for flying—a skill she first took up as a young teenager—that set her sights on the U.S. Air Force, one of the only military branches in which her family had yet to serve.
Ehasz launched her military career as a cadet in the U.S. Air Force Academy before graduating with honors, serving on active duty stationed in Alaska, joining the U.S. Air Force Reserves and then transferring to the Air National Guard. She rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force, and now is a drill status guardsman in the Ohio Air National Guard working at the Joint Forces Headquarters.
On top of all she’s accomplished to date, Ehasz has turned her focus toward a new way to serve: investing in others by way of academia. Specifically, she’s pursuing a lifelong dream of becoming a professor.
Ehasz and her husband moved their family to Cleveland in the fall of 2020 so that she could enroll in Weatherhead School of Management’s PhD in Organizational Behavior program. Now a fourth-year student and hopeful PhD candidate, Ehasz is well on her way toward turning her dreams into a reality—and the faculty members in her program credit her military background for much of her success.
“As a Lt. Colonel, Sharon learned and refined her emotional intelligence in a pragmatic culture with a tremendous dedication to her country, diversity, and learning,” said her advisor, Distinguished University Professor Richard Boyatzis. “In her doctoral program, her leadership with classmates and students looks seamless but was refined over decades. Sharon is a testament to effective military and civilian leadership with an amazing commitment to learning and research with relevance.”
In Ehasz’s view, the core added value veterans bring to the civilian workforce—be it in academia, industry, or beyond—can be summed up in one word: perspective.
“[Veterans] are brought up in a culture/system of diversity that then takes us all over the world to interact with other cultures,” she explained. “In addition, we are trained that you don’t leave your teammate behind. In today’s world of increasing isolation and individualism, that perspective of support, teamwork and dedication to others is priceless!”