WHITMIRE — Some 2,000 school college students walked all through the Littlejohn Coliseum stage on Dec. 22 and shake the hand of President Jim Clements as a tangible illustration of a severe faculty milestone graduating from Clemson School.
Six time zones ahead of the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Enterprise commencement ceremony, United States Army Captain Scott Abrams ’08 will doubtless be contemplating of Clemson’s newest group of alumni as he spends time collectively along with his partner and three kids at their home in Germany. Three years after he enrolled in Clemson’s on-line program, he’s set to earn a Grasp of Enterprise Administration (MBA) diploma.
“By the use of a lifetime achievement, (incomes my MBA is) correct up there subsequent to being married and my kids being born,” said Abrams, who hails from Whitmire.
Abrams earned a bachelor’s diploma in parks, recreation and tourism administration on May 9, 2008. He remembers the day as a number of the emotionally rewarding moments of his life. He grew up idolizing his father — a 1973 Clemson graduate — who moreover celebrated his 59th birthday on the equivalent day.
He was born proper right into a Clemson family. Alongside along with his father, Abrams’ grandfather was a member of the Class of 1943.
He was moreover born proper right into a military family. Abrams is the eighth expertise of his family to serve within the US military. He says it traces to his ancestor James, the first member of the Abrams family to come back again to the US.
“He obtained right here sooner than the American Revolution and joined the South Carolina militia,” he said. “It was destined to be for us.”
Navy service wasn’t on a regular basis inside the plan for this member of the Abrams family, though. Following graduation at Clemson, he labored inside the civilian sector and moved to Jacksonville, Florida. Residing collectively along with his uncle, he remembers the two having extreme conversations about leveraging his Clemson diploma and commissioning as a military officer.
Abrams was working as a server inside the restaurant enterprise when he met his eventual partner. After she grew to grow to be pregnant with their first child, he knew the job wouldn’t proceed to pay the funds.
“I assumed I’ll use some self-discipline and {{that a}} military occupation would downside me,” Abrams remembers contemplating. “I enlisted in July 2011.”
Decrease than two weeks after enlisting, Abrams’ father was recognized with stage 4 thoughts most cancers. He delayed the start to basic teaching to maneuver his father to MD Anderson Most cancers Center in Houston, Texas, the place he was given six months to a 12 months to remain. After caring for his father, Abrams achieved basic teaching a 12 months later in July 2012 and his father was able to attend graduation. Abrams was commissioned as an officer on Oct. 4, 2012. His father handed away the subsequent November.
On account of Abrams did not have an ROTC background, he was finding out the Army from scratch as a human belongings officer. He calls his first few months as a second lieutenant a “giant adjustment,” nonetheless says his father instilled a strong work ethic in him and taught him to not at all cease.
Abrams’ first undertaking was with military intelligence at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia in April 2013. He left for Florence to perform a recruiter after 4 years at Fort Gordon and a promotion to the rank of captain.
Whereas in Florence, he acquired the itch to look into the potential for incomes a complicated diploma. He utilized and was accepted into the MBA program for the Fall 2019 semester. It was all through this time he was moreover contacted for a specific different to return to Clemson.
“The South Carolina Education Lottery was searching for to showcase a veteran that had benefited from the Life Scholarship, and it was one factor that helped me financially all through my undergrad at Clemson,” he said. “I was featured on the Tiger Tailgate Current for Navy Appreciation Day that fall. I assumed that was pretty cool and observed it as an unimaginable promoting and advertising and marketing different with my perform as an Army recruiter.”
His family acquired 4 tickets to the soccer recreation in direction of Wofford, which launched once more reminiscences of his first stint in Tigertown from 2004-08. As a pupil, he served as an intern under Billy Napier, the soccer program’s recruiting coordinator on the time and in the intervening time the highest coach on the School of Florida. Abrams moreover labored with the athletic division’s facilities workforce.
Definitely one among Abrams’ first MBA programs was accounting, and he struggled. He was positioned on tutorial probation. He was working for a demanding battalion commander on the time and didn’t dedicate rather a lot time to the class. Furthermore, his partner was pregnant with their third child.
He was granted a semester off to regroup. After which the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“Our son was born after which we acquired orders to go to Germany,” he says. “I wanted to quarantine for 14 days after I arrived in Germany. My fall 2020 semester started in a lodge room at Ramstein Air Base. Nevertheless, I was able to hold inside the MBA program and commenced to dedicate myself to doing properly.”
Abrams not at all struggled with one different class, all whereas serving as a captain with the tenth Army Air and Missile Safety Command. The unit is liable for the air safety of all of Europe. Fast forward a number of years and he’s not solely graduating collectively along with his MBA, nonetheless he’s in line for a promotion to principal.
“It’s an unlimited deal for me, on account of my dad was a severe,” he admits.
Abrams says the toughest part of adjusting to life overseas has been incomes an MBA on prime of his non-public {{and professional}} obligations. As he’s halfway to his goal of 20 years of military service, Abrams can’t help nonetheless think about the multitude of the way in which the MBA diploma pertains to his work.
“There’s masses on this diploma that is transferable,” he said. “You help with budgeting and helpful useful resource allocation. Social media method is giant, on account of now we have now an unlimited on-line presence by the use of promoting the Army’s message. There’s moreover administration. Definitely one among my favorite packages inside the MBA program was Gail DePriest’s superior administration class.”
He’s utilized a great deal of what he’s realized in his perform as an Army recruiter. Lastly, he might even see himself opening up his private enterprise sooner or later — possibly inside the hospitality commerce, an house of curiosity.
Abrams believes he has the muse important to succeed, given his military service, family historic previous and “all in” Clemson spirit. And like his father, he’s doing it to set an occasion for his kids to watch.
“I am truly having enjoyable with the usual of life and different to journey,” he said. “To have the flexibility to maneuver that on to my kids has been specific. I didn’t have a ton of different rising up. Whitmire is a small metropolis and I had 17 of us in my graduating class. Nevertheless hopefully I’m imparting on my kids the importance of making one factor of your self.”
Whereas his is not going to be a repute that was audibly launched all through commencement on Dec. 22, the MBA diploma despatched inside the mail will perform validation of his tireless efforts.
