Leading through uncertainty

Air Force Academy graduate Josh Yago ignored the potential turbulence and focused on his flight path when he applied for a graduate degree in business analytics at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. Playing another year of college lacrosse was secondary to his desire to find a school that mirrored the academy’s focus on servant leadership and elevating team mission over individual accomplishments. Yago found that place at Notre Dame, and scoring goals for one of the top teams in the country was a bonus after overcoming a range of obstacles. He only informed lacrosse coach Kevin Corrigan that he could join the squad weeks after starting classes. 

“I was so relieved,” Yago said. “To have that blind faith for that long put a toll on me for sure. But when it finally worked out, I was thankful and just trying to make the most of it. It’s been a crazy journey.” Coach Corrigan is certainly glad Yago stuck the landing. Yago brought his three years of experience and extensive leadership skills to an attack that lost all three starters from last year. In late February, Yago earned Offensive Player of the Week accolades from the ACC after leading the Irish with nine points off five goals and four assists in two wins, right before the team became #1 in the country. As the season continued, he helped keep the dream of another NCAA championship title alive until the Irish fell to No. 1 Princeton in the finals. After the game, he was named to the Championship All-Tournament Team. “Josh has been a great addition to our team on many levels,” Corrigan said. “Obviously, he is a very talented lacrosse player. More importantly, he brings his background and experiences as a leader at the USAF Academy: an officer, a two-time captain and a graduate with an outstanding academic and military background. Through all that, Josh brought maturity and a great appreciation for the opportunities he has earned.” Yago grew up in Arvada, a Denver suburb, as the only child of a salesman father and mother in the investment industry. Ironically, his father Roger played football for the Colorado team that beat Notre Dame 10-9 in the 1991 Orange Bowl to win the AP national championship. As a captain of his high school basketball and lacrosse teams, Yago’s leadership skills were emerging early. Yet he aims to let his actions speak the loudest. “I’m not always the most vocal guy in the room,” he said. “I definitely learned the motto, ‘lead by example,’ and I think I’ve taken that approach during my time at the Academy and my time at Notre Dame.” Yago said he chose the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs after learning that he’d be paid to go there, figuring that was the best way to pay his parents back for all the sacrifices they made to advance his lacrosse training. “I don’t think it really clicked with me that I would be joining the military back then,” he said. He was quickly disabused of that notion and chose to major in operations research, which he described as a mixture of data science and business management. In the military, that might mean studying the tactical and everyday needs of a particular base to find the “optimal way to spend their budget” on everything from planes to food. An injury during his freshman year at the academy is the only reason Yago has the extra year of eligibility to play at Notre Dame. Another year at Air Force was not an option, so he focused on his grades in the faraway hope of earning a spot in another graduate school. At the end of their junior year, academy cadets put in for their job preferences. Yago chose the Space Force and did an internship in the military’s newest branch that summer. “The further I got into the interview process with Space Force, the more excited I got about it,” he said. “And then I actually did an internship doing Space Force-related work, and that got me even more interested. So I could see myself doing this for my military career.” He entered the transfer portal during his senior season, while captaining his Air Force team to its first-ever Atlantic Sun Conference championship and the second round of the 2025 NCAA tournament. USA Lacrosse named him an All-America Honorable Mention. His real challenge was off the playing field. Yago wanted to complete graduate school before serving his five years of mandatory service in the Air Force. “I knew I wanted to go to a school where the degree meant a lot,” he said. “When I entered the portal, I looked for academic schools that were also interested in me for lacrosse. When Notre Dame called, it checked both boxes.” Mendoza’s Master of Science in Business Analytics program first offered Yago a two-thirds scholarship, which didn’t satisfy the Air Force. So he kept calling and apologetically explaining the need for a full academic scholarship. He also didn’t know if the Air Force would grant him a graduate school spot or assign him a duty. “I was just very determined, and I was doing anything I could to make it work out,” he said. In early May, Notre Dame called to approve full funding, and two days later the Air Force agreed to send Yago there for his first assignment. When the Air Force told him he couldn’t play lacrosse, he reported to campus in August anyway. “I told Coach Corrigan that I’m here no matter what, but it just sucks that I can’t play,” Yago said. “They gave me a lot of different reasons why in an email. But two weeks later, they ended up saying yes.” Classwork at Notre Dame and Air Force is similar, Yago said. The faculty and staff at both places truly care about their subjects and about what the students are getting from the class. The biggest difference is the schedule. At the academy, his morning classes started early to allow time for afternoon military obligations. He can sleep in a little later now. On the lacrosse field, Yago said practice organization and player competition levels are similar at both schools. “One big difference is, the following of Notre Dame sports as a whole, it’s huge,” he said. “Being on the number one team in the nation, you get a lot of eyes on you. That national stage spotlight, I think that’s the difference.” Yago acknowledged that his new teammates had expectations based on his age, playing experience and military background. But as a transfer, he felt he needed to earn their respect. “I had the mindset that I was coming in as a freshman, in a sense,” he said. “I’m new to the team. I haven’t earned anything, and so all I want to do, especially in the attack room, is just create a mindset for the entire team that we’re going to get to work and the results will pay off in the end.” That leadership mentality isn’t accidental; it stems from the structure purposely built into the Air Force Academy. Cadets are divided into 40 squadrons of 100 each, split evenly between the four class years. Seniors lead all aspects of training, holding their younger classmates accountable for everything from mealtime to formation to military exercises. “You’re not just leading your teammates, where it’s much easier because we’re like brothers with one common goal,” Yago said. “Within your squadron, there are people from different backgrounds and places, so being able to lead those people comes with different challenges. I learned the most in squad training, because a lot was thrown at you.” Michael Labbe, assistant director of Notre Dame’s Office of Military and Veterans Affairs, said the way Yago juggles military, academic and athletic duties isn’t just about time management; it’s a continuation of the call to service. “What Josh brings to campus is a masterclass in servant leadership,” Labbe said. “In the military, you learn early on that your individual success is secondary to the team’s objective. Seeing him apply that level of maturity and selflessness to the lacrosse field shows how military training translates into being a transformative leader in any arena.” While Yago does not yet know what he will do at Space Force on the technical side, he noted that satellite operations intrigue him. There’s little question that the space industry will continue to grow, and he’s excited to see where Space Force will take him. He appreciates the emphasis Mendoza places on networking because he expects to work in the future with NASA and private companies like Lockheed Martin and Space X. He said both his Mendoza classes and his lacrosse career reinforce the importance of teamwork. “The ability to network, to meet new people and build relationships, whether on a team or within the industry, I think that aspect will be significant,” he said. Yago said he gets more satisfaction from an assist than from scoring, though he’s willing to “put the ball in the back of the net” if that’s what the team needs. “When I’m looking back, I don’t think I’m going to care how many goals I score,” he said. “It’s definitely going to be: ‘Was I a good person? Did people in the locker room look up to me?’ One thing I’ll hopefully leave behind is being somebody to remember in a positive way.”