Theresa is currently serving in the Navy as a Public Affairs officer. She was able to find her career path in the Navy. She started her career in the Navy because she was looking for a career. Her friends had headed off to school and she was struggling to make ends meet and was looking for a way to move forward. The Navy gave her that opportunity and she began her career working with airplanes as a mechanic.
Finding your career path in the Navy
She crossed over from enlisted to officers after approximately seven years of service. She went to a prep school program with the Navy followed on with college and when she graduated she was commissioned into the Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer (SWO). She wanted to be a Public Affairs Officer but had to do a lateral transfer after becoming an SWO. It took a few years but eventually, she became a Public Affairs Officer. She had already been working as PAO and stayed at Pacific Fleet Command. When given the opportunity to deploy to the Philippines as an Individual Augmeentee she did.
She shared how that experience opened her eyes to the dynamics outside of her office. She worked with the State Department and Embassy and learned so much there. She continued in her career and things were going well for work. But she was struggling in her mental health. She had to work through some past issues and learned to set boundaries. And while her mental health improved she still was lonely.
Meeting her husband
She was lonely at her new assignment and met a guy she thought just would be a good friend. But they ended up hanging out. They eventually got married. She talks about how he helped her not feel so lonely and how it has helped her mentally as well.
Today she is serving overseas in Germany to help support the crisis in Ukraine. As a PAO she works on a team with others helping to get information out to others. She was able to deploy even though she was in the process of recovering from shoulder surgery. The base in Germany can provide the support she needs to continue to recover while meeting the mission.
Theresa currently hosts Stories of Service on her YouTube channel. I was a guest in March 2022, you can watch our interview here.
