What do deadlifting 175 pounds and programming have in common? They both require you to thrive on challenge and embrace failure, said Lt. Gen. Jody J. Daniels at a Khoury College Identity Series event on November 23.

“I almost left the gym in tears,” Daniels said, describing how she felt when, during a military fitness training, she was told her squat form wasn’t yet good enough to add weight to. She had spent her entire life as a high achiever at anything fitness-related, and the critiques hit hard. “After a half hour of this, I was hugely frustrated, and it was tough. I had to go outside, bring together my ego, and go back in.”

Daniels’ career is a testament to the power of resilience and determination, and those were the lessons she shared with members of the Khoury community. A computer scientist and the first female commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve, Daniels has a lengthy, impressive resume. She is decorated with a variety of awards and medals, and has held many command assignments and leadership positions in the military. Her civilian career includes roles at Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Laboratories and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. (You can find her full bio here.)

Theresa Todd (Align MSCS ‘22), a U.S. Army veteran who introduced Daniels, put it this way: “In summary, General Daniels is who we should all aspire to be.”

The conversation was moderated by Dean Carla E. Brodley, who was a classmate of Daniels when the two women were both pursuing their graduate degrees at University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Their shared history lent the discussion a warm, nostalgic familiarity — Brodley recalled Daniels’ ability to outrun anybody on campus, and the two bonded over the memory of a particularly challenging computer science course they both took.

Classmates Dean Carla Brodley and Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels are reunited in a Khoury virtual event.

While Brodley and Daniels’ careers have diverged in the past few decades, they are both women who have risen to prestigious positions of leadership. Daniels touched on her experience as a woman rising to the top of her field, explaining that she strives to be authentic to who she is while still leading effectively.

“I have to be the face of the Army Reserve, and I have to be the face of women in the Army Reserve, and I have to be the face of officers and other groups,” Daniels said. “Every now and then, it’s a little daunting. Then I go ‘Yeah, suck it up, get on, move it. Go eat your ice cream. Now, get back to work.’”

Daniels called into the Microsoft Teams event dressed in military uniform and seated in her Pentagon office. According to Todd’s introduction, Daniels is one of the highest-ranking officials in the entire military. But although she has dedicated much of her life to pursuing an Army career, that wasn’t always the plan. Daniels took an early interest in computer science, ever since her father brought her and her brother to a Boy Scout coding event. When time for college rolled around, Daniels applied for ROTC scholarships, not because her father was a veteran, but because all her friends were doing so.

This brought her to Carnegie Mellon University, where she earned a BS in applied mathematics, after which she fulfilled her six-year obligatory military service. Daniels eventually earned MS and PhD degrees in computer science from UMass Amherst, as well as an MS in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. She credits the support of her mentors for pushing her to branch out and make decisions that would help her achieve professional aspirations she never dreamed she could reach.

“I think this is particularly true for women, for looking further out,” Daniels said regarding the importance of considering the long term trajectory of one’s career. “I encourage people to look two positions out.”

The logic behind this advice is that it allows you to hone in on what is most interesting to you early on and prompts you to consider what you need to do to achieve that goal. Daniels also encourages both computer scientists and military members from underrepresented groups to be proactive and outgoing when seeking mentors of their own. If you are rejected by a potential mentor, she said, “don’t let them off the hook.” Ask them to connect you with someone else who may be willing to help.

During her time in the military, Daniels has become intimately familiar with both leading and collaborating. She warned students against discounting the importance of being a good team member, admitting it is often more difficult to be an exemplary collaborator than a solid leader. Dean Brodley laughingly chimed in that students should also remember that advice when working on group projects.

And, just like Daniels did when her deadlift form wasn’t perfect, she urges students to focus on the process of learning and improving, rather than winning.

“Go for the bronze. You don’t have to go for the gold, as long as you’re on the platform,” Daniels said. “That way, you are actually learning something besides thinking about I’ve got to be first, I’ve got to be first, I’ve got to be first. That was my weird approach, and it worked for me.”