• Baylor neuroscience alumna passes LSAT — then chooses Air Force career

    Maggie Courtney

    Maggie Courtney, BA ’11, could have been a scientist — perhaps a neurosurgeon. She also could have been a lawyer, a judge or a politician. But she wanted an even bigger challenge — so she became an Air Force navigator instead.

    1st Lt. Margaret Courtney, as she should properly be addressed, got her bachelor’s in neuroscience from Baylor in 2011. Then, while working at a mental health institution helping to rehabilitate individuals with drug dependencies, she figured she’d try her hand at the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). She passed, but decided law school wasn’t the right place for her, either. Instead, she decided to join the Air Force and become an AC-130H gunship navigator.

    Courtney is one of just a few female Air Force navigators. The first was Lt. Col. Allison Black, who says she has heard great things about the Baylor alum. “I can’t help but reflect about when I was a lieutenant and about how excited I was about the mission — and then after 9/11, to go and fight,” Black told Airman Magazine. “I’m excited for her, because I know she’s going to find the reward.”

    [SEE Courtney talk about her career path in this Airman video]

    “I can at least wake myself up in the morning, look in the mirror, and know that I’m pushing myself to the limit,” Courtney says of her experience so far. “I did it with neuroscience, pretty much out of pure stubbornness to see if I could, got that degree and said, ‘Well, I don’t want to do that anymore!’ Now I’m here, and I’m loving the challenge and pushing myself and seeing how far I can go.

    “It’s not too bad to be in your young 20s and have basically limitless possibilities laid out in front of you. I’m like ‘Goodness gracious, let me look into it all.’ I feel like I’m hitting this whole job and career at the sweet spot. I’ve had plenty of people ahead of me pave the way.”

    Sic ’em, Lt. Courtney!

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