Logan Womack’s journey to graduate from the FIU Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs with a bachelor’s degree in economics – and being named an FIU Outstanding Graduate – exemplifies his leadership, resilience and dedication. While studying economics at FIU, he developed a passion for economic research and data analysis. However, his military tenure is central to his story.
As a kid with an active imagination, he had an innate ability to convert an idea into a number. In high school he was a wrestler and, above all, enjoyed team-oriented activities, which helped lead to his decision to join the Army and became a paratrooper. Like many in Womack’s family who also served our country, it was considered a rite of passage. Although Womack grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, during his senior year of high school he moved to Pensacola, Florida, to gain his state residency with the dream of attending FIU.
“I needed to serve to see if I could be pushed up to the edge and survive,” said Womack. After taking a leave of absence from college, in 2018 he joined the Army, and soon after training at Fort Bragg, he shipped out to Syria.
The mission included securing deconfliction zones, while supporting local communities and fostering resilience. During his eight months in Syria, his mission was to protect the Bedouin population, combat the ISIS presence and ensure that Iran didn’t have access to strategic rapid mobility. During his deployment, which included 300 combat missions, he would sometimes go out on two patrols a day. His highest position of responsibility during his service was as a squad leader of paratroopers in the Army Airborne Infantry.
Economics professor Esteban Chinchilla shared his thoughts on a challenging research project that Womack took on as well as his overall diligence.
“His dedication and productivity were unmatched by any other students I’ve taught,” Chinchilla said. “During class, he asked me the most sophisticated questions about very technical topics covered in the textbook, (which is) considered advanced. His incredible attention to detail and pursuit for knowledge was refreshing.”
Already employed full time, Womack works with a very large client base at a Fortune 500 energy company in their business-to-business sales. His analytical and interpersonal skills are key to managing client relations and financial strategies. He recently developed an on-the-job innovation by developing a new tool to automatically adjust reserve balances to their optimal level by utilizing comments of account managers on their shared sales platform.
After graduation, Womack is pursuing a Master of Data Science degree at the University of Connecticut, with the goal of becoming a data analyst/scientist in the field of financial operations.
“I am extremely grateful to FIU's Economics Department and credit my professors from whom I learned so much to build the foundation of my success,” Womack said.