When Laura Lear became a senior subcontract administrator with Leidos’ airborne systems business area late last year, she realized she needed more training to align her expertise with her new responsibilities. The bulk of her experience was in Department of Energy (DOE) and construction, but her new job focused on Department of War (DoW) and manufacturing. Scanning the Leidos website for training opportunities, she found the Aerospace and Defense MBA (ADMBA) program offered by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business.

“I love that UT’s program was specific to aerospace and defense, because I knew that that was my biggest knowledge gap,” Lear says.

Tackling Assignments as a Team

Having applied late to the program, Lear missed the pre-program preparation readings and found herself struggling with the material in the initial residential period (RP). That rough start inspired her to find ways for the whole cohort to assist one another.

“If I’m struggling, I feel other people are, too, so let’s all row the boat together,” she explains. “In my experience, you never solve the hard problems alone. So, at the end of that first RP week, we put together a big group chat, and I started scheduling homework sessions for our assignments and invited everybody to join.”

Her classmates responded enthusiastically to Lear’s steady and supportive presence. They voted her co-class president, and her regular encouragement of team study earned her the affectionate nickname “PTA Mom.”

Christine Dano Johnson, assistant director of the ADMBA program, praises Lear as a pillar of support for the 2025 cohort, continuously working to ensure none of her fellow students fell behind academically.

“Her authentic form of servant leadership is evident in everything she does, and she does it all with grace, class, warmth, humor and professionalism, all while raising a busy family,” Johnson observes.

Cohort as Family

Lear believes studying together catalyzes superior learning since sharing different perspectives on the material opens interpretations and applications to critique and improvement, which individual students could not do alone. Although it wasn’t her goal, she discovered that taking a team approach to the program reached beyond improving the learning experience.

A further example of this cohort’s camaraderie is its creation and adoption of a class mascot: Vern, the stuffed pigeon. One cohort member brought in the bird, and another crocheted a Power T sweater for Vern. Then Lear took over.

Lear says the cohort has become an extended family. Classmates keep up with each other’s life events — birthdays, marriages, pregnancies — and help each other solve situations at work and network for jobs. They are discussing returning to campus for the 2026 alumni game and eyeing a separate class reunion, too.

“There are only five RPs,” Lear says. “So, we’re currently planning for RP6 to meet in Florida for the Artemis II (a crewed lunar orbiter) launch in April because we learned about it when we were in Huntsville for our industry immersion.”

“I have mailed him to everyone throughout the year, and we have a Flat Stanley book of him now,” she shares. “He’s been to Spain, Colombia, Hawaii, London and Disney World. It’s been a good time.”

Skills and Knowledge Gained…

Beyond growing a professional network and an extended family in the ADMBA program, Lear learned material relevant to her job, from Excel spreadsheet applications to finance fundamentals. A real-world business simulation involving every class member roleplaying a position in a logistics chain was eye-opening for Lear.

“These are 37 people in active roles, like materials handler and manufacturers,” she recalls. “The level of effort and care the professors put into the simulation did not go unnoticed. That is what sets the program above so many others. Anybody can read a book, but when they’re having you read a book, do an assignment and then you’re in an active sim for it, that sticks. You’re seeing in real time, ‘Oh, that’s why this doesn’t work.’”

Lear now feels more ambitious in her current role. She is excited about using and expanding her new skills.

“Even little things I learned from the year are applicable and make things better and move quicker,” she says. “That’s what’s next for me: Keep growing my toolkit and applying what I’ve learned to add value to my company.”

…And Applied

All cohort members complete an organizational action project (OAP) that delivers significant benefit to their employers. Lear’s OAP is being tested in a small group at Leidos, which has already seen impressive gains.

“I am so proud of my OAP and the impact it will have on my business unit, and we are excited to roll it out broader and bigger across different business areas,” she says. “We’ve worked so hard, and I do think it is going to change the landscape of our supply chain.”

Her experience in Haslam’s ADMBA program was challenging, but it has positioned Lear well: Leidos’ Defense System Global supply chain vice president Debbie Williamson sponsored her OAP and is pleased with what Lear has brought back to the company.

‘I Can’t Recommend It Enough’

For professionals seeking to augment their business skills in the aerospace and defense industry, Lear heartily endorses Haslam’s ADMBA. Acknowledging the program is rigorous, Lear says if students plan the work and work the plan, they will be successful.

“This has been a hard year, and it’s exciting to have the period at the end of the sentence,” she says. “I’m grateful for the opportunity because I’m in a fantastic place having done this program. I can’t recommend it enough. And I do, routinely.”

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CONTACT:

Scott McNutt, business writer/publicist, rmcnutt4@utk.edu