The College of Business at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is one of the support pillars sustaining spring 2025 UAH graduate Daniel Navarro as he reaches for his goals. Other pillars include his family, his Christian faith and the U.S. Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). Navarro receives his bachelor’s degree in economics on May 5, 2025, just three days after he is commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army on May 2, 2025.
Ann Marie Martin | UAH
Daniel Navarro is fast approaching two milestones that attest to his ambition, determination and commitment: On May 2, the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadet will be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. On May 5, the economics major will receive his bachelor’s degree from the College of Business at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of The University of Alabama System.
“I’m the type of person,” he said, “when I want something, when I know my goal, I’ll go for it at full speed.”
Navarro credits his family and his Christian faith with supporting and sustaining him as he pursues his goals. He was born in Venezuela, and his family immigrated to the U.S., waiting 11 years for the paperwork to be approved. He arrived in Huntsville at age 14 and attended middle and high school here before enrolling at UAH.
“Although I’m not from Huntsville originally, I’ve been here all of my adult life, and Huntsville’s my home.”
Navarro is also the type of person who looks for an open window when he’s faced with a closed door – in this case an earlier goal of becoming a pilot in the U.S. Air Force.
“I couldn’t fly because of the way I talk, the way my mouth was shaped, and they were concerned that would impede my mission. So I had this bright idea. Huntsville is the home of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, and for a long time I’ve been interested in air defense systems. So I thought if I can’t fly, then I want to shoot down enemy pilots, drones, helicopters and missiles.
“Now I’ll be commissioning as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, the greatest army in the world! I want to be an air defense officer in the Air Defense Artillery Branch. You can tell the Army which branch you want, and then based on how well you perform and how strong you are in your interview process, they pair you with a branch. Air defense was my number-one choice, and I got it!”
In July Navarro will move to Lawton, Oklahoma, for his basic officer leadership course at Fort Sill.
“I’ll be doing that for four to five months. After I graduate, I’m projected to be part of the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade at Fort Sill. I’ll be staying there for my first years in the Army.”
Navarro said he is eager to share with the soldiers under his command the paths to excellence he has learned through the UAH Army ROTC Department, an extension of the Alabama A&M University Bulldog Battalion.
“If the soldiers are waking up at 3 in the morning, then I’m waking up at 2 in the morning. If the soldiers go to sleep at 9, I go to sleep at 10. Whatever they’re doing, I’ll be there with them. I really like showing them what it means to be a servant leader, putting the needs of my soldiers first, leading by example, and empowering them to grow and succeed in our mission.”
Along with his initial military plans, Navarro also adjusted his academic trajectory at UAH.
“I started as an aerospace engineering major. Then I realized I actually didn’t like aerospace engineering, and I really like economics. I was always interested in the business side of engineering. With all of the math-heavy classes I’d taken, it was an easy transition from aerospace engineering to economics – and I had my math minor already.”
Navarro is especially interested in microeconomics, focusing on businesses and individuals, rather than the macro side, encompassing the whole government. When his Army career ends, he can see himself employing his Army and business experience in the defense industry in Huntsville.
The College of Business also helped Navarro further develop his social skills as a College of Business Ambassador.
“We represent the College of Business to upcoming students, to foreign students, to people in the community. We are the face of this college. I feel like a lot of this person I have become is because of the College of Business.”
Navarro also gave a big shout-out to his UAH fraternity, Sigma Nu, Mu Beta Chapter, for helping him to reach toward his goals: “Sigma Nu showed me what brotherhood and camaraderie are.”
“Now I’m going to take everything I have learned during the past five years at UAH and apply it in the real world. I’m really excited!”