EMBA Graduate’s Ambitions Find a Home at OU
The aerospace and defense program at the University of Oklahoma calls for a certain type of person. Someone who is accustomed to challenges and meeting goals.
Maurice Compton, who is set to graduate this week with an executive MBA in the program, is one of those people.
Compton is a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served as an infantryman and CH-46E crew chief. During that time, he was involved in two combat tours in Iraq. He was later assigned to Marine One under the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. No matter the task, Compton met each challenge with the attitude of, “nothing’s going to stop me.”
Compton on board Marine One, the U.S. Marine Corps aircraft carrying the president of the United States.
Upon retiring from the service in 2015, Compton found that the drive to meet challenges had waned, despite having a full-time job in the aviation industry. That changed when his wife noticed a post when scrolling through social media.
“My wife saw an advertisement on Twitter for aerospace and defense at the University of Oklahoma,” Compton recalled.
Right away, Compton was enthused about the opportunity to pursue his entrepreneurial goals, as well as continue his education. That enthusiasm was quickly met by his family’s desire to move from Washington, D.C., to Oklahoma after a week in the state.
“Maurice isn’t from Oklahoma originally, but he appreciates the Sooner spirit,” said Shad Satterthwaite, director of OU’s aerospace and defense program. “His work ethic matches well with the working environment here.”
“The environment, the cost of living, everything was conducive to what I wanted to do,” Compton said. “The people on campus and in my cohort all helped me feel at home here.”
OU’s executive MBA in aerospace and defense was launched in the fall of 2020, led by Satterthwaite and Associate Director Michelle Brown – both of whom Compton mentioned as being influential in his education, transition and comfort at OU.
“They made everything so easy,” said Compton of his mentors. “Everything about Michelle and Shad is just first-class.”
“Maurice is a visionary who is not afraid to take risks,” Satterthwaite said. “He takes the knowledge and skills gained from the EMBA in Aerospace and Defense at OU and applies them in his own business.”
Compton’s accomplishments are not limited to the classroom. Earlier this year, he started his business, Ready 3, in the aerospace and defense sector.
“Maurice has built meaningful relationships through the EMBA in Aerospace and Defense program,” said Satterthwaite. “He’s never met a stranger. He seems to make instant friends when he meets people for the first time.”
With his graduation set for this week, Compton is looking ahead to his next challenge – launching the Ready 3 Foundation.
“I want [Ready 3 Foundation] to help raise money for STEM research and provide scholarships for kids wanting to go to Oklahoma state schools,” Compton said. “I don’t like to hear kids say that they don’t have the funds for an education, and I want to help them along.”
It is with that attitude of service and self-determination that has driven Compton toward OU and will continue to drive him well after.
“I’m looking forward to Maurice’s success and the contributions he will make to the aerospace and defense industry,” Satterthwaite said.
By Brady Trantham
Article Published: Wednesday, December 15, 2021