In this episode of Long Blue Leadership, Christian Evans shares his journey from a jovial cadet to a dedicated leader focused on uplifting others.

SUMMARY

Christian reflects on transformative experiences during his time at the Air Force Academy, the importance of mentorship, and the impact of community engagement. Christian discusses navigating career transitions, the power of giving back, and the significance of leading with love. He emphasizes resilience, personal growth, and the need to engage the next generation of leaders.

 

SHARE THIS EPISODE

LINKEDIN | FACEBOOK

 

TAKEAWAYS

• Christian emphasizes the importance of humor in leadership.


• Transformative experiences can lead to personal growth and leadership development.


• Mentorship plays a crucial role in guiding younger generations.


• Navigating career transitions requires building a supportive network.


• Giving back to the community enhances personal fulfillment.


• Engaging the next generation is vital for sustaining leadership values.


• Resilience is key to overcoming failures and learning from them.


• Leading with love fosters a supportive environment.


• Personal growth is a continuous journey influenced by experiences.


• Finding avenues to contribute to the community is essential for leadership.

 

EPISODE CHAPTERS

00:00  Introduction to Leadership Journeys
02:56  Transformative Experiences in Cadet Life
06:10  The Impact of Mentorship and Community
08:52  Navigating Career Transitions
11:49  The Power of Giving Back
14:50  Engaging the Next Generation
17:55  Lessons in Resilience and Growth
21:00  Leading with Love
23:55  Reflections on Personal Growth
26:59  Conclusion and Future Aspirations

 

ABOUT CHRISTIAN EVANS

BIO

Christian Evans is a Business Development Executive at Olsson where he leads sales and growth efforts in Texas and Colorado. Christian previously worked as Managing Partner of Greenwood Capital lower middle market PE firm, Wealth Advisor at Morgan Stanley, Capital Markets Sales Manager at Highland Capital Management. Prior to joining Highland, he worked as an associate on the Banking, Investing, and Lending team at Goldman Sachs. Christian started his professional career in the United States Air Force as a space operations officer at Cape Cod AFS, MA and an acquisitions program manager at the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB, CA.

Christian is an active leader in the Dallas community sitting on the Visiting Nurses Association of Texas Board of Directors on the finance and development committees and on the Friends Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy on the Development committee. Christian is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and The Real Estate Council.

Christian is a 2008 Graduate of the United States Air Force Academy where he majored in Management. As a Cadet, he competed on the Fighting Falcon football team, served as President of the Tuskegee Airmen Club, and became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Incorporated. He completed his MBA at the SMU Cox School of Business in 2017. Christian is married to Dr. Candace Evans and they enjoy their time with their son, Cash.

- Copy courtesy of the U.S. Air Force Academy Association of Graduates 

 

CONNECT WITH CHRISTIAN

LINKEDIN  |  ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES

 

 

 

ALL PAST LBL EPISODES  |  ALL LBLPN PRODUCTIONS

AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PODCAST PLATFORMS

 

 

 

FULL TRANSCRIPT

SPEAKERS

Guest:    CHRISTIAN EVANS ’08  |  Host:  Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz ’99

 

Naviere Walkewicz  00:00

Welcome to Long Blue Leadership, the podcast where we share insights on leadership through the lives and experiences of Air Force Academy graduates. I'm Naviere Walkewicz, Class of ’99. For Christian Evans, USAFA Class of 2008, the journey was arduous, and even now, though he's dedicated himself to a life of lifting others up, he still thinks of himself as a work in progress, becoming the model for grace, giving back and leadership that he is today. Christian, thanks for being here today.

 

Christian Evans  00:28

Thank you so much for having me. Truly honored and flattered to be here.

 

Naviere Walkewicz  00:34

What were you like growing up? — I guess maybe is the first question.

 

Christian Evans  00:38

I've always been a jovial person. I've always had a sense of humor, and I've always kind of been a strategic thinker, if that makes sense. So, while I was somewhat the life of the party to a certain extent, or someone on the team that would galvanize the teammates, it was mostly through humor or engaging outside of anything serious, because everything's so serious, right?

 

Naviere Walkewicz

Right.

 

Christian Evans 

So, growing up and even at the Academy, I always kind of used humor as a way to put myself out there, so to speak, right? To kind of get people's moods to calm down. Yeah, I just always was more focused on what I was doing, and never focused on “I should be leading in this space,” outside of just knowing if you do well in school, get good grades… All right, that's leadership by doing. “I'm in NHS, I'm in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I'm doing all these service things. And even though I'm not the president or vice president, I'm still active, serving a greater purpose.” So, yeah, growing up, I was a good kid, liked to have fun, maybe a little crass at times.

 

Naviere Walkewicz  02:05

Your sophomore year, you know, your three-degree, you kind of had this decision point. What was it that helped you make that decision? Was there an incident? Was there a moment? Was it just a path you were on?

 

Christian Evans  02:20

There was definitely an incident. At the end of our sophomore year, we did not have the season that we wanted as a football team, so the night of the game, after the game, I was still underaged, and I drank alcohol and the Academy found out about it. And so, I had to go through that rehabilitation process, which wasn't fun. I think it was six months where you're restricted to the base. At that point, that's when I said, “OK, this isn't a civilian school. You’ve kind of got to button it up here if you want to stay and actually get something out of it.” So that next year, I made a point during summer school, and even that summer as a cadre for basic, to just really apply myself and try to see, “All right, if I actually apply myself and lead and maybe not make everything a joke, will you see real outcomes?” And I think that's where my first experience of really being able to affect younger cadets and/or younger grads and their experience with the Academy. Because as a basic cadet cadre, I really went out of my way to try to look out for our basics in a way that typically doesn't happen during basic training. And it is what it is, right? Basic training is not summer camp, so it's got to be tough, it's got to be hard. But I definitely — and I think if you ask my basics — I definitely went into the situation with the idea of making it hard, but fair, but also making it enjoyable and something that's worth remembering. And so experiencing that as a cadet and really seeing, “OK, yeah, you're pretty good at this thing, you can motivate people, and you can make them feel good about themselves, and you could help them when they need it, and not make it hard for them to get where they need to go, kind of thing, and really enable them.” That was a great experience for me, and kind of carried into the next year. I got on group staff; I learned that the more that you lean in, there are actual outcomes that come out of it, and you're able to have a positive impact on other people, which, to me, gives me — that's where I get energy, and I feel good about myself. Outside of how I feel about myself is how I can help other people to accomplish whatever it is they kind of want to do.

 

Naviere Walkewicz  05:04

Wow, it sounds like you took an incident that happened to you all the way back in basic and you found a way to turn it around, to make sure that another basic didn't have to go through what you did. And you probably didn't eve