10 Within 10 Recognition
Lydia Sankey '17
2026 10 Within 10: Lydia Sankey
Class of 2017, College of Business Administration
As a supply officer aboard the USS Bulkeley, Lydia Sankey, ’17, has built a career defined by service, adaptability and authentic leadership. Currently based in Rota, Spain, she has traveled the world in uniform and made a lasting difference in the lives of the sailors she’s led along the way.
The scope of Lydia’s responsibility in the Navy is striking. As supply officer, she has maintained accountability for an $18.5 million budget and $31 million in shipboard inventory. During deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Baltic, she expedited the delivery of over $12 million in critical parts and fuel across two areas of responsibility — including a groundbreaking initiative to secure aviation fuel in Poland, where delivery had previously been impossible for naval units. She and her crew actively participated in real-world ballistic missile defense operations. Her leadership of 27 food service personnel earned the USS Bulkeley the Captain Edward F. “NEY” Award in 2025, the Navy’s top recognition for food service excellence in the East Coast small-medium afloat category. She holds a Navy Achievement Medal, a Navy Commendation Medal, a Green Belt in Lean Six Sigma, and certificates from Harvard University in negotiation and team leadership.
For Lydia, the measure of her career isn’t rank or geography; it’s the messages she receives from junior sailors, years later, reporting promotions, new commands and teams of their own. Those moments, she said, are the best feeling.
At CMU, Lydia was a member of the Chippewa Marching Band, and she said she’ll never forget the rush of running down the ramp and onto the field at the first football game of the year — stands packed, energy electric. She studied abroad twice during her time at CMU, experiences she credits with broadening her perspective and revealing her own strength. Professors Jerry DiMaria, Michael Pisani and James Batcheller helped shape her sense of direction and remain anchors of gratitude in her story.
“It is possible to be a good, effective leader while still being real and true to yourself,” she said. For Lydia, being a CMU Chippewa means carrying a tradition of integrity and compassion into every role she holds — and always being ready to Fire Up.
Lydia holds a dual bachelor’s degree in international business and Spanish from CMU’s College of Business Administration.
