For Dakota Michel, enrolling in the online MBA program at Purdue’s Mitch Daniels School of Business isn’t just the next step in his education — it’s a continuation of a family story that has been tied to the university for nearly a century.
“My great-grandfather graduated from Purdue in 1936, and his wife graduated shortly after him,” Michel says. “My grandfather and grandmother actually met in Purdue’s veterinary school, where they obtained their doctorates together and were married before they graduated. So I quite literally owe my existence to the university.”
That legacy runs deep. His extended family includes great-aunts, great-uncles, cousins, and even his father, who all studied at Purdue in some form. Though Michel grew up in Kentucky, he never lost sight of his family’s roots in West Lafayette. When it came time to choose a graduate program, Purdue felt like a natural fit. “It was like coming full circle,” he says.
Michel’s path to Purdue, however, was far from straightforward. He enlisted in the Army at just 17, carrying on another long-standing family tradition. “My family has been continuously in the Army since World War I,” he says. “Growing up, it was kind of understood that I’d have to pay for college on my own and getting into a bunch of debt was not in the plan. So I decided to continue the military tradition and enlist. It’s been incredibly rewarding. I’m still in today, and I still love it.”
After completing his active-duty military service, Michel explored his family’s business in heating and air conditioning but realized it wasn’t the right fit for him long term. “I felt that while most people go to school to learn a skill to make money, going to school where you learn to make money made more sense to me,” he says. That mindset pushed him into business school at Sullivan University, where he thrived.
Upon graduation, Michel worked at ADP in Louisville, a role that allowed him to put his business training to use with high-level executives. “The degree helped me have the conversations I needed to have, especially with higher-level C-suite executives,” he says. “I was working directly with client organization leaders.”
But law enforcement had always been another passion. At 20 years old, Michel began the lengthy process of joining the U.S. Marshals Service. “They are very thorough with everything they do,” he says. “It took me four years of interviews, tests and medical exams. But in April 2025, I graduated from the Marshals Academy.”
Even with a demanding career and ongoing Army reserve duty, Michel kept thinking about graduate school. “Getting my master’s degree has always been something I wanted to do,” he says. At first, Purdue’s tuition put the online MBA program out of reach. Then, just two weeks before applications closed, a Purdue enrollment advisor emailed him with unexpected news: the university had reduced tuition to a rate he could afford.
“Within seven days I had my entire MBA application packet complete and submitted,” Michel says. “And then within 10 days of that email, I was accepted into the program.”
Several months into his graduate studies, Michel finds the challenge energizing. “It’s been incredible to get back into learning something I care about, as well as meeting people who are like-minded,” he says. Skills he honed in the Army and through Marshals Service training are central to his success. “My best friends are time management and discipline,” he says. “I will not get up from the desk chair until my nightly tasks are done.”
Working with classmates from different backgrounds has also broadened his perspectives. “With the military and Marshals Service, everyone has similar experiences. In the MBA program, I’m working with people from completely different walks of life,” he says. “It’s been eye-opening.”
Looking ahead, Michel has ambitious goals and sees wealth management as a path. “Working with clients and building those relationships, as well as watching how money flows and shifts daily, is really interesting to me,” he says.
In the Army, his Purdue degree will also strengthen his career. “It looks really good on our promotion packets, so I’ll commission as an officer when I’m done with the program,” Michel says.
For Michel, every step of his journey — from the Army to the U.S. Marshals to the Daniels School — has been about growth, discipline and legacy. And now, with his MBA underway, he feels like he’s preparing for the future and honoring the past. “Purdue holds a very special place in my heart as well as with my family,” he says. “I thought it was only right that I become a Boilermaker.”
