A drive to serve led Nebraska’s Gabe Chase, '20, to the front lines of the global pandemic. The MBA@Nebraska alum was one of a number of students in the Nebraska National Guard’s 155th Air Refueling Wing who were called to assist with COVID-19 testing statewide. Chase’s section within the 155th's medical group served primarily in central and western Nebraska, operating drive-through testing stations in Grand Island and Lexington.
“I’m more of a people person, so I like to work registration,” Chase said. “It gives me a chance to talk directly to people and, if needed, calm them down about the testing. It’s a task I feel I’m gifted at doing.”
The non-traditional student built a career on serving others. Now in his fourth year with the National Guard, Chase previously served in the U.S. Coast Guard and assisted with humanitarian relief efforts in Africa.
“It took me a bit, but I realized there was this greater need for medical aid around the world, so I figured I’d spend a few years here in the states then, hopefully, go overseas again,” he said.
That decision led him to sign up with the National Guard. While there, he earned an MBA and in May 2020, his was one of a record setting 3,500-plus degrees conferred during a virtual graduation celebration.
“I’ve had a stretching experience at the University of Nebraska,” Chase said. “It’s set me up well for the next step in life.”