Dylan Perry
A Life of Service
Dylan Perry joined the U.S. Army in 2016 and was given five weeks after training to prepare for deployment. She spent nine months in Iraq, first serving as a trauma medic, then training local armed service members in medical care and overseeing patient transports.
Perry, however, didn’t slow down after returning stateside. When the pandemic struck, she led an emergency response team for COVID-19 relief operations in Boston, working long hours in a convention center converted into a care facility. Later, she and her team were deployed to New York to manage medical supply logistics and provide patient care. “The support we received in both places was overwhelming,” Perry recalls. “People made us food and baked us cookies. They were grateful to have us there during a difficult time.”
Perry grew up familiar with military life. Both of her parents served, and the family eventually settled in Texas. She began an undergraduate finance program there before deciding to enlist. “I went to the recruiter, and they needed more medics, so I said, ‘Let’s go,’” she says. “It was a complete 180 from what I’d done before, but it was fun and incredibly fulfilling.”
After completing her military service at the end of 2020, Perry returned to business studies at Texas A&M, earning her bachelor’s degree in 2023. She then enrolled in Haslam’s Full-time MBA program the following year, where she continued her acts of service, serving as vice president of philanthropy for the Women’s Organization of MBAs and as social chair for the Association of Graduate Business Veterans. Perry isn’t slowing down, though. She earned a summer associate internship with Deloitte in Austin, Texas, and is set to graduate from the MBA program in December with a concentration in supply chain management. “I think everyone realized during COVID how important the supply chain is,” she says. “I’d like to stay on that path.”
After graduation, Perry hopes to find a job in the Volunteer State and continue working with community organizations. She has enjoyed volunteering with Random Acts of Flowers and local animal shelters. “Being part of the community is important to me,” she says. “My time as a medic taught me a lot about caring for people and sustaining life. I want to carry that experience into both my supply chain career and volunteer work.”
