October 2015
Brian O’Reilly ’00
by Joe Box ’04, ’12
Alumni Association Board member Joe Box ’04, ’12 had an opportunity recently to catch up with Brian O’Reilly ’00, a graduate from the South Hampton Roads Center in Virginia. Here’s a great look at Brian’s background, current career and family, and his Saint Leo. #mysaintleo
Where is your Hometown?
I was raised in Greenville, OH, a small Midwest town located northwest of Dayton, OH.
Tell us about your family.
I’m married with twin 17-year-old boys who are high school seniors.
What is your current profession?
I am a vice president at CACI and run a program management office (PMO) for multiple contract vehicles in support of both DOD and Federal customers.
CACI provides information solutions and services in support of national security missions and government transformation for Intelligence, Defense, and Federal Civilian customers. A Fortune magazine World's Most Admired Company in the IT Services industry, CACI is a member of the Fortune 1000 Largest Companies, the Russell 2000 Index, and the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. CACI provides dynamic careers for more than 16,700 employees in 120 offices worldwide.
Tell us about your Saint Leo Experience.
I completed my bachelor’s degree in business administration, studying at Little Creek Amphibious Base and Norfolk Operations Base (NOB) locations and additional various Tidewater locations.
During that time, I enjoyed excellent student and professor interaction both online and in classroom settings, which contributed to the overall experience in providing various other views and perspectives that widened my horizons.
Flexibility was the largest part of the equation as the class schedules conformed to a hectic work schedule that allowed me to do the work after hours and close to the various military sites/bases I was working on. The convenience of going straight from work to class made the transition seamless as I joined my other students who were juggling their lives and careers simultaneously.
What are your favorite memories of your time at Saint Leo?
My favorite memories include the hectic schedules and assignments due while my twin boys were babies … although in retrospect maybe that was how I kept my sanity! Joking aside, it was a busy time in my life, but the great students and staff helped pull me through it. I learned to appreciate the dedication of those who supported me and owe them a great deal of gratitude—especially my wife now of 25 years!
Tell us about your job.
Over the last eight years at CACI, I have been doing business development and operations support on a large multiple-award contract. We provide services to federal and DOD customers where we bid on opportunities in support of those customers in an enterprise IT business environment, which is a very dynamic market. Over the last 25 years in the DOD services business, I worked on the “deckplates” as a technician and have progressed through various project and program management roles with increased responsibilities throughout the career.
Are you active in community outreach?
As a business development asset, I interact with various military organizations across the DOD spectrum in supporting golf outings, fundraisers, and corporate sponsorship of occasions that help and support our warfighters.
What are your goals?
I hope to continue to serve and support warfighters by delivering world-class products and services so that their jobs and lives improve. My aspiration would be to provide these products and services so our military men and women benefit, and each and every one of them make it home to their loved ones.
What advice do you have for current students or alumni?
Get that degree! And know that the hard work you are doing will pay off in the future in both monetary and personal benefits. Saint Leo offers a great degree program that is very affordable and provides a good learning experience that many students don’t receive at traditional universities. I recommend Saint Leo to anybody and everybody!
What is your individual philosophy?
I am guided by The Man in the Arena quote, which is an excerpt from a speech called “Citizenship in a Republic” by Theodore Roosevelt. Even just the first seven words capture my personal views …
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
This excerpt captures the essence of the drive and devotion to pursuing successful goals and personal aspirations I strive to meet.
Life will always have its critics; however, I believe if we read the entire quote—and understand that for every goal you pursue that there will be critics who say you can’t—we should agree to not be part of “those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat”! Go forward and succeed!
Finish this phrase: My Saint Leo is …
My Saint Leo is … a great experience and a strong foundation for personal and business success in the market place; a convenient program with world-class staff and instructors, as well as world-class students.
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