SEAC (Ret.) Ramón Colón-López reflects on service, leadership, and learning
The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) Alumni Association recognized SEAC (Ret.) Ramón Colón-López ’17 with a Distinguished Alumnus Award on October 29, 2026, the Association’s highest honor. His military career culminated in service as Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman (SEAC) of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest enlisted position in the U.S. military.
Receiving the honor gave Colón-López an opportunity to look back on a journey that did not always follow a traditional path.
"The first thing that came to mind was like, really, the guy who once didn't want to go to school, who ended up getting this degree done so late," Colón-López recalled. "That guy is now a distinguished alumnus?"
Today, his story reflects themes often associated with Veterans Day: service, perseverance, and commitment to continual growth.
Searching for purpose
Spending much of his youth in Guánica, a small coastal town in Puerto Rico, Colón-López grew up in modest circumstances. His father struggled to find steady work as economic opportunities on the island declined, eventually prompting the family to relocate to Connecticut.
After high school, Colón-López briefly attended college but quickly realized he lacked direction.
"I was pretty much having a good time and not getting anywhere," he said. "So I decided to go by the recruiter's office and just ask them, ‘How quick can you get me out of this town?’"
Leadership through service
What began as a search for structure and independence became a 33-year military career that would take him to the highest levels of national defense.
Early in his U.S. Air Force tenure, Colón-López faced challenges that might have deterred others. English was not his first language. He entered a logistics specialty that he described as "a gross mismatch." But everything changed after trying out for special operations.
"That's where I found my purpose in life," he said.
As a pararescueman, and later a member of the special operations community, Colón-López thrived in an environment that demanded excellence. He was one of only 12 candidates to complete a selection process that began with 113 participants.
The experience shaped not only his career but also his philosophy.
"I was always preparing to make sure that I was the leader that I always wished I had," he said. "I kept notebooks. I was very introspective."
That commitment to self-improvement ultimately helped propel him to the role of SEAC. According to Colón-López, the odds of an enlisted service member rising from the entry rank to that position are approximately one in 2.4 million.
"It has everything to do with credibility and the reputation that that credibility builds," he said.
SEAC (Ret.) Ramón Colón-López ’17
Learning in action
His educational journey followed a similarly unexpected path.
For much of his military career, Colón-López viewed formal education primarily as a requirement for advancement.
It wasn't until he connected with UMGC’s Michael Lackie that his perspective began to change. Lackie, now a regional director of Europe and downrange programs, helped him map out a degree plan built around his interests in leadership and management while remaining flexible enough to accommodate a demanding military schedule.
The result was a bachelor's degree in business administration that influenced the way he approached leadership at the highest levels of government and military service.
"I didn't just get a degree," Colón-López said. "I put that education into practice, and I had the honor to advise two chairmen, three secretaries of defense, and two presidents in the process."
That impact is one reason receiving UMGC's Distinguished Alumnus Award remains especially meaningful.
"I always quote [philosopher] Herbert Spencer: ‘The great aim of education is not knowledge, but action,'" he said. "And that is really what I did with my life."
Reflections on service
Colón-López believes the public should remember the sacrifices made every day by the nation's service members and veterans.
Colón-López believes the public should remember the sacrifices made every day by the nation's service members and veterans.
"It's not glamorous. They're not going to get rich doing it, but they're doing it because they love the society that they serve," he said.
He pointed to character, competence, and commitment as key qualities that veterans bring to their communities after military service. Those values, forged through service, continue to shape lives long after uniforms are put away.
For Colón-López, they are qualities that also helped transform a self-described reluctant student in Puerto Rico to a national military leader and distinguished alumnus. His journey serves as a reminder that education, when paired with purpose, can open doors that were once unimaginable.
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