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An unexpected military deployment doesn’t sound like the ideal context for going to school. But Albert Cooper (MBA, 2009) wasn’t considering just any old school for his master’s degree. Nor has he ever let time and location dictate his achievements. As his story proves, a 22-year military career and a successful transition to the civilian sector have more to do with who you meet along the way than what the circumstances were when you started. 

Born in Panama, Cooper made his way to the United States when his mother fell in love with a U.S. Army service member and moved the family to Oklahoma. After that, they went to Texas, and then to Japan, Korea and Thailand.

Cooper and his three brothers followed his mom and stepfather all around the world, in other words, but much of it was lost on Cooper. At least at first.

“I got that experience as a kid, not knowing how fortunate I was,�� he says. “At that moment, I was just thinking, ‘I don’t want to go on a plane! I don’t want to not sleep in my bed.’��

Just as Cooper began to appreciate his global exposure, however, it was time to settle down to life in the States as a ninth grader. His stepfather had retired from the military and moved the family one last time to Newport News, Virginia.

Cooper navigated the transition by pouring energy into sports. He excelled in track and field and earned a scholarship to a state university in Tennessee. Soon, he transferred to an institution in Florida, mostly because the idea of going to school near the beach was irresistible.

Sand and surf turned out to be poor motivators. “I wasn’t mature enough to go for the college life, be by [my]self and try to figure it out,�� he says.

Cooper was at a standstill. He knew he wanted something besides heading home and starting work. That’s when he looked to his friends who were joining the Army and Navy. Maybe they had the right idea, Cooper recalls thinking. Tellingly, he decided on the Marine Corps, “because it looked like it was the most challenging.�� His adulthood had officially begun.

Cooper successfully completed a few classes while deployed and was ready to dive in once back home. As it turned out, studying on his home turf didn’t automatically eliminate all challenges. There was, specifically, the uphill struggle of several group projects.

“With the alpha personality,�� he says and laughs, “you just want to get it done, take it over.��

Cooper wanted to keep his GPA close to 4.0, so learning to let everyone pull their weight felt like twice the challenge. Yet this lesson turned out to be one of the most profound for him. 

Cooper appreciated how everyone from the medical field to entrepreneurs were “so willing to share their knowledge.��

After completing his degree, Cooper applied his new knowledge to his next role leading the Marine Corps Special Force Command. “It was definitely a pleasure to be in charge of that department for those individuals [who] do a lot of things that are not highlighted or in the news,�� he says.

Eventually, after reaching a 22-year milestone with the military, Cooper began to eye a civilian career. His daughter was in high school, he had remarried and felt like his presence at home was needed. It was time to transition.

Cooper and his wife relocated to Atlanta to be closer to his children. He started interviewing with a number of companies that believed in his transferable skills as a leader. Eventually, Cooper landed at Coca-Cola United, where, as an employee relations manager for the South Metro Atlanta Division, he has been leading and serving 1,000 employees daily since 2018. 

For Cooper, the biggest difference between leading in the military and in the civilian sector was learning to be more careful with his words.

“From a military standpoint you are more directing,�� he explains. “You are saying ‘I need this moved from here to there.’��

In the civilian sector, by contrast, “there’s a lot more I have to explain [with regard to] why I need this moved from here to there.�� He laughs as he adds, “You know, I have to put please in my email [and say], ‘Can you please move this.’��

While Cooper says this good-naturedly, there is always a learning curve. Fortunately, Coca-Cola has offered up plenty of leaders who model good communication. Cooper says his corporate director, for example, “is very hands on, very knowledgeable, and so she’s a really good person [who] explains things.�� His VP also stays tuned in at every level, he says.