Rarely do careers follow perfectly linear paths. For Hillary Sweeney, her journey from an undergraduate studying political science and Spanish to an attorney at the U.S. Department of Defense was shaped by unexpected opportunities, mentors, and solid groundwork at The University of Tulsa.
Sweeney grew up in suburban St. Louis, earning her bachelor’s degree in 2012 and her law degree in 2015, both from UTulsa. While on campus, she found that the smaller university setting fostered a close-knit community while offering endless opportunities for growth and success.
The public service pipeline
As Sweeney began nurturing her interest in government and politics, law professors like Johnny Parker and Lyn Entzeroth helped develop the many skills Sweeney needed to successfully navigate law school and life as an attorney. “Professor Entzeroth’s Constitutional Law course affirmed that the public sector was where I wanted to focus my career,” she said.
Sweeney joined UTulsa’s prestigious Cyber Corps program and feverishly learned as much as she could about computer science, digital forensics, and networking. “It ended up being the best decision I ever made,” she said, “and it was my technical background, I believe, that set me apart from other applicants when applying to the Department of Defense.”
A life well-traveled
Sweeney was serving as a DOD attorney in Washington, D.C., when her husband, U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Michael Sweeney, received word that he would be stationed in Japan. She continued working for the Pentagon remotely, and the pair took up traveling as a hobby. In 2022, they moved to Valencia, Spain. It was there that Sweeney embraced full-time travel planning.
Her first experience abroad was a trip to Europe with her grandmother after high school, sparking a lifetime longing to travel. Her grandmother taught her that the best education is exposure to different people, places, and cultures.
While she struggles to pick a favorite destination, a trip to Tromsø, Norway – where she and her husband mushed sled dogs, fed reindeer, and viewed the northern lights – stands out. The highlight was snowmobiling across a frozen lake in whiteout conditions to reach the Norway-Sweden-Finland border. “I’ve never seen another place on Earth that felt as otherworldly as the frozen lake did that day,” she said.
Seek opportunity, embrace change
Six years abroad and 63 countries later, Sweeney is on track to visit 100 countries before she turns 50. She maintains that packed schedules and red-eye flights are worth the lasting memories, far outweighing the inconvenience. “If you have a long weekend or an extra vacation day to burn, pick a place, book the flight, and go for it! You won’t regret it,” she said.
Her advice to current students is simple: Be open to change. “I’ve always been someone who prefers to operate with a plan,” she explained, “but I’ve found that it’s the moments I’m willing to stray from the plan that I experience the most growth.”
Leading by example, Sweeney’s move to support her husband’s career presented her with the opportunities she found most rewarding. “Once you embrace life as it is instead of constantly pursuing what you think it should be, you might find that you’ve fallen into a better life than you could have ever imagined.”