Alumni in the News

Our Alumni Continually Succeed in their Civilian Endeavors

Not only does Orion recognize the excellence that our alumni bring to the civilian workplace, but so does the press! Our alumni continually succeed in their civilian endeavors and serve as examples of how their leadership qualities, technical experience, and intangibles, such as loyalty, work ethic, and integrity, benefit their chosen field. Check out the list below to read about a few of our alumni in action.

Chris McBrayer

Field Service Engineer for General Electric and the U.S. Army
Student, National Aviation Academy; and Student, ITT and Life Cycle Engineering Institute
By: Career College Central Magazine

McBrayer's suggestion to military students and veterans is go technical, mechanical and electrical. Companies are hiring military-trained...


Travis Guthrie

Travis Guthrie

Former Navy Nuclear Machinist Mate
Supervisor, Vehicle Production, Circumferential Friction Stir Weld and Paint - SpaceX
By: G.I. Jobs

SUPER COOL JOB. - Travis Guthrie is a former Navy nuclear machinist mate who now helps SpaceX build rockets in Southern California. So we had to ask: What's the coolest thing about your job? "We build rockets!" Can't argue with that.


Dustin Stout

Dustin Stout

Ex-Navy Technician
Active Duty Technician Recruiter, Orion Talent
By: G.I. Jobs

What appealed to you about operations? - If you're a transitioning military technician, Dustin Stout might be your ticket to a great civilian career. Stout, 31, is an active duty technician recruiter for the recruiting firm Orion Talent.


Bradley Orndorff

Civil Affairs Officer, Army Reserves
Sales Consultant, Medtronic
By: journal-news.com

What appealed to you about operations? - Transitioning Army officer and veteran Bradley Orndorff is one of more than 30,000 veterans who has been hired through Orion Talent. He accepted a sales consultant position in April of 2014 at Medtronic in Cincinnati. Headquartered in Cary, N.C., Orion Talent's West Chester office, located...


Harrison Drapo

Harrison Drapo

Captain, Army (2009-2014)
2nd Shift Welding Supervisor, Polaris
By: G.I. Jobs Magazine

What appealed to you about operations? - I was pretty open when I got out of the military. I felt I had a lot of skills that could translate to a lot of areas. But it was Polaris...


Aaron Wanless

Aaron Wanless

Sgt. Aaron Wanless speaks at the Ft. Campbell Veterans Jobs Summit and Career Forum.
By: Michael Cass and Philip Grey, Gannett Tennessee

Michelle Obama announces new job website for veterans. First Lady tells soldiers, 'Don't be afraid to brag' about yourself and your accomplishments.
FORT CAMPBELL - First lady Michelle Obama urged...


Trevor Frank

Trevor Frank

Why You Should Transition to a Trade
By: Marty Levine, G.I. Jobs

What He Does. I perform critical instrument tests, troubleshooting and repairing of instrumentation equipment such as flow, level and temperature meters, transmitters, and various types of valves.


Ben Gardner

Ben Gardner

Submariner uses all the tools at his disposal to land his dream job.
By: Cecil Guy, Air Force veteran, G.I. Jobs

What He Does. Ben Gardner, 41, is a training coordinator at the Lost Cabin Gas Plant near Lysite, Wyo. He trains workers on safety and other aspects of the job. He started in July 2013. How'd You Get That Job? - He networked, went to job fairs and...


Kelly King

Kelly King

Kansas City Southern Announces Operations Department Reorganization
Business Wire - November 2013

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kansas City Southern (KCS) (NYSE: KSU) announced today the reorganization of several operations department functions. "These organizational changes will ensure the U. S. operating team is well structured and...


Ike Odi

Ike Odi

200,000 Reasons to Apply
By Marty Levine, G.I. Jobs

That's how many employees energy companies may lose over the next several years. Here's how you can get one of these high-paying jobs.
If there's ever an industry that needs the field experience and skills that veterans bring...


Nick Breeschoten

Nick Breeschoten

Here's Your Blueprint for Engineering
By Len Vermillion, G.I. Jobs

There are plenty of jobs. Starting salaries are rising. And there's lots of work that needs to be done. There are many reasons for you to get into engineering. You just need a good plan.
"We are about 25,000 engineers short," says Dan Wittliff, president of...


Syrhan Biray

Syrhan Biray

A Sweet Job
By Len Vermillion, G.I. Jobs

Syrhan Biray spends his days taking care of one single customer in Hershey's client base, but that just so happens to be one of its largest customers - Walmart. While numbers on the size of...


Paul Andrews

Paul Andrews

First Lady Announces 125,000 Veterans and
Military Spouses Hired Through Joining Forces

By Len Vermillion, G.I. Jobs

Paul Andrews, a Navy veteran, introduced the First Lady. Originally from Texas, Paul joined the Navy and was trained as a sonar technician, where he...


Heatherann Bozeman

Heatherann Bozeman

Job fair opens a door for veterans
By April Dudash, fayobserver.com - April 27, 2012

Heatherann Bozeman just sold her house. She's preparing to move to Florida.

And now, as a civilian making the transitionfrom a 20-year Army career, she's looking for a job...


Heatherann Bozeman
Retiring veteran: 'I'm employable. And I bring something to the table'
By Kerry Sanders / www.NBCNews.com - March 2012

The Pentagon estimates 300,000 members of the U.S. military will retire this year alone. Kerry Sanders reports on one woman, Army captain Heatherann Bozeman, who'll leave...


Michael Abitago

Michael Abitago

Veteran thanks First Lady for job at railroad
By Fred Childers, Reporter - April 12, 2012

"But we have reason for optimism, because the unemployment rate of post 9/11 veterans has been trending downward for the past 27 months," First Lady, Michelle Obama told a crowd of about 400...


Gerry Peppmuller

Veterans Face New Battle in Private-Sector Job Market
By Mark Koba, Senior Editor - March 23, 2012

What appealed to you about operations? - Some vets are finding work. Gerry Peppmuller of San Antonio, Texas, is retiring as a major in the U.S. Army in August after 21 years of duty.

The 45-year-old Peppmuller says he has a job lined up with a railroad corporation that they created for him, after getting the interview through Orion Talent


Seth Robert

Veteran Success Story: Seth Robert
By Jaime Kammerzell, Rigzone Contributor - April 26, 2012

Seth Robert is a former avionics, electronics, weapons technician for U/AH-1 helicopters in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served from June 2000 to May 2005. Upon leaving the military, Robert struggled to find a civilian job that matched his education...


Andrew Roberts

Resources to Help Veterans Land a Civilian Job
By Emily Glazer, The Wall Street Journal - December 4, 2011

…Another option is a recruiter. Before Andrew Roberts of Manhattan returned from Iraq in 2004 he worked with Orion Talent, a military recruiting firm that doesn't charge veterans for its services, which includes coaching and résumé development and job placement at more than 7,500 companies...


Jimmy Lamz

Jimmy Lamz

Hire a vet? IT says yes
By Tracy Mayor, Computerworld - November 10, 2011

Military experience: U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 2005. U.S. Navy, 2005-2011; surface warfare officer, served as first lieutenant on a cruiser and as navigator on a frigate, both out of Mayport Naval Station; deployed to the Horn of Africa, Persian...


Stephanie Afalla

Stephanie Afalla

For parts of Valley, power may be out until Thursday
By Daniel Patrick Sheehan and Spencer Soper, Of The Morning Call, Lehigh Valley News - November 1, 2011

Distribution center operator Jessica Bartholomew (left) and system operator Stephanie Afalla (rear center) work in the systems operation room inside...


Brian Schulz

Brian Schulz

From S-3 Vikings to Medical Devices
By Military.com - September 2011

Brian Schulz is a former Navy lieutenant and flight officer who found a new career selling medical devices with Medtronic Spinal and Biologics. We caught up with Lt. Schulz to ask...


Kelly King

Kelly King

Discovering similarities between the military and freight rail
By Association of American Railroads - November 2011

As a 2005 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point who later served in Iraq and South Korea, former army Captain Kelly King feels...


Kelly King
Military Transition: Workin' on the Railroad
By Ho Lin / www.military.com - August 2011

Kelly King is a former Adjutant General Captain who is now Director of International Rail Operations Support for the Kansas City Southern Railway Company. Military.com interviewed...


Kelly King
Why Transportation Companies Want Vets
By Adam Stone / www.militarytimesedge.com - May 3, 2011

When you hear that lonesome whistle blow...it may be calling for you.

Major rail and trucking companies such as Union Pacific, Kansas City Southern and Con-way...


Randall Tyson and Scott Corley

Industry Spotlight: Wind Energy
By Allison Thomas & Colleen Whiteside, Orion Talent - May 2011

With 15% growth in 2010 alone, there are few industries experiencing the rapid growth of the wind power industry. In fact, this industry was responsible for 26% of all new electric generating capacity in the United States, according to a recent American Wind Energy Association report. Rapid expansion of...


Nick Espe

Nicholas Espe

Joining Forces: Career Opportunities for Vets and Spouses
By Allison Thomas / Military.com Veteran Careers - Apr 2010

On Tuesday, April 12, President and Mrs. Obama, along with Vice President and Dr. Biden, announced the launch of Joining Forces, a national initiative that follows the Presidential Study Directive to increase programs...


Andrea Hovey

Andrea Hovey

Naval nuke engineer finds quality job, quality life in unexpected industry
By: Jon R. Anderson / Military Times Edge - Jul 27, 2010

Sometimes it's the dream job that becomes a nightmare, while a profession you couldn't imagine yourself doing becomes everything you'd hoped for in a career...


Matt Wheeler

Matt Wheeler

Logistics officer's career takes a powerful turn
By: Amanda Miller / Military Times Edge - Nov 10, 2009

When Matt Wheeler returned from an Illinois Army National Guard deployment to Iraq in the summer of 2008, the former bank manager wanted to get out of finance and move his family closer to his native Kansas...


Shannon Dowdell

How to track down good leads and make yourself stand out in a crowd
By: Adam Stone / Military Times Edge - Mar 17, 2010

Walking into a MilitaryStars job fair, it's hard not to feel good about yourself. As the doors to the hotel ballroom fly open and a few hundred job seekers surge forward, recruiters from two dozen employers rise to their feet and break into applause, celebrating...


Robin DeHaven

Robin DeHaven

Witness becomes rescuer in Austin plane incident
Source: CNN U.S. - Feb 18, 2010

Robin Dehaven usually replaces windows. On Thursday morning, after a small plane crashed into an Austin, Texas, office building, he was breaking them, having rushed...