Veteran takes on MBA journey and daughter’s cancer battle

Business leaders are often inspired by stories of resilience, of individuals who rise from humble beginnings, confront adversity head on, and turn challenges into opportunity.

Landon Clifford (MBA ’25) embodies that spirit. His story is about rising from challenges out of his control, acknowledging vulnerability and embracing empathy – all hallmarks of the modern leader, not to mention a typical Tar Heel.

He grew up in Colorado, part of a family of seven, and his experiences shaped his vision for the future and drew him into higher education.

“I grew up below the poverty line, and I noticed that friends from church whose fathers had MBAs seemed to have much better job opportunities,” says Clifford. “From a young age, I knew an MBA was my goal.”

He graduated from Colorado Mesa University with a business degree and was selling cars when an acquaintance who had served in the U.S. Air Force sparked his interest in the military.

Clifford went on to join the U.S. Army as a platoon leader at Fort Carson – the start of a career that he concluded as a military intelligence officer in Fort Liberty, North Carolina, before he joined the Full-Time MBA Program at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.

“The military experience significantly enhanced my chances of getting into a top business school,” says Clifford. “I initially planned to serve for just a couple of years but ended up staying nearly a decade because I genuinely enjoyed the work.”

The right fit for an MBA – and a hospital

Although business school was always part of the plan, he could not have imagined how his journey would unfold.

One day his young daughter, Alice, woke up and announced that “her legs weren’t working.” At first, the family thought she was exaggerating as kids sometimes do. But then she developed a high fever. Doctors misdiagnosed her and further tests revealed she had acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The military was incredibly supportive of his family and gave Clifford an extended leave.

It was time to battle cancer – and pursue an MBA.

“I had specific criteria – a top-20 business program and a top-10 pediatric oncology hospital,” says Clifford. “UNC perfectly matched my requirements. The hospital’s reputation was crucial because of my daughter’s health journey. Moreover, the Business School offered a welcoming, supportive environment that wasn’t overly competitive, which was important to me at this stage of my life.”

Clifford faced the usual challenges of being a graduate student along with unique ones because of his daughter’s battle.

From the start, UNC Kenan-Flagler nurtured his mind, body and soul when he and his family needed it most. The community rallied around his family.

“It was a challenging time, but we remained positive. The military and UNC Kenan-Flagler were incredibly supportive,” he says.

“We even participated in the Team Impact program, where Alice ‘signed’ with the UNC women’s rowing team,” says Clifford. “This gave her special experiences like attending meets and having movie nights with the team. Fortunately, her prognosis is improving. If she goes one more year without a relapse, her odds of recurring cancer will only be double that of a child who never had cancer.”

Career transition

“The MBA Program was transformative,” he says. “I immediately joined the Veteran’s Club and found a supportive community.” He later served as its vice president.

“The curriculum helped me translate my military skills into business language,” he says. “I realized many military decision-making processes were like consulting frameworks.”

Even as the family faced childhood cancer together, Clifford was determined to have the full MBA experience, and his wife obliged. He studied in an exchange program at Pontifica Universidad Catolica De Chile, where he brushed up on Spanish and studied entrepreneurship and sustainable leadership.

He earned a Marketing Concentration and honed his leadership skills. He recognized the transferable skills he had developed in the military. “I’m an empathetic leader who focuses on understanding people as individuals,” he says. “I believe in addressing people beyond their workplace personas and helping them achieve their personal goals.”

The most important part of his experience, Clifford says, was building his network and meeting “incredible people” while learning to “be decisive, collaborate effectively and see challenges as opportunities for growth.”

His classmates celebrated his unwavering strength and dedication to his family and professional commitments. “He’s an inspiration to us all, embodying the qualities of a devoted father and an outstanding colleague,” they wrote in the MBA Student Association newsletter. “Here’s to celebrating Landon’s incredible journey, and may his family continue to thrive and enjoy the brighter days ahead.”

When challenges become opportunities

After about a year and a half of treatment, Clifford’s daughter began to hit her milestones. At that point, the military told him he would be deployed to Poland the following year to conduct work related to the Russian-Ukraine war.

It was a pivotal moment. He didn’t want to be deployed while his daughter still required consistent medical care. And he was on the brink of making his dream of attaining an MBA degree a reality. So, he chose to transition from the military to the civilian world.

First, he had to go through one of the rites of business school: recruiting.

“Recruiting was brutal,” says Clifford. “I sent numerous job applications before securing a position. The job market was incredibly tough, and despite my military background and MBA, finding the right opportunity was challenging. Ultimately, I secured a product marketing manager role through the UNC alumni network at Accelevation LLC, a data warehouse manufacturing company in Cincinnati.”

Clifford is looking forward to the challenge of the new job, which reminds him of his military experiences: “Building something new in an environment that requires figuring things out from scratch.”

“UNC Kenan-Flagler gave me confidence and a new vocabulary to navigate the business world,” he says. “It helped me reset my life after the challenging experiences with our daughter’s illness. The supportive community at UNC Kenan-Flagler was crucial in helping me transition from military service to the corporate world.”