I joined the National Guard in 2003. After a stint in the guard, I decided I wanted to go active duty. So, I enlisted into the Army in July of 2008 and was given my choice duty station. I chose 25th Infantry Division and was stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. My job was a combat engineer at 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, Light Sapper Unit. I was deployed to Tikrit, Tuz, and Kirkuk, Iraq, from 2008 to 2009, and to the Nangarhar Province in Regional Command East Afghanistan. 

During my time in the Army, I attended schools become certified to destroy ordinance in Afghanistan, become an explosive ordinance clearance agent, and Sapper School. 

I left the Army in 2012 and decided to attend college. After college, I worked diplomatic security for the Department of State at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. It was at this time I realized I wanted to be in a less kinetic environment and decided to pursue business.

My military experience has helped me throughout my life and career, providing me with experience and leadership that allows me to seamlessly work on cross-functional teams. Being in high-stress environments throughout most of my early career path has created a mindset that keeps me calm under pressure and deadlines. Organizational skills acquired from the Army also allow me to mentally juggle projects that we take on in Reliant Federal Credit Union’s marketing department. Finally, the camaraderie I experienced has given me the soft skills needed to efficiently communicate with other businesses, vendors, and fellow cohorts. 

► Check out more reader-submitted stories.