Darlene had to focus know her goals in the Navy to continue moving forward and have a successful career. She joined the Navy to fly jets. But by the time she graduated she shifted her focus and began a career in Personnel. She fell in love with leadership and it helped drive her career and the unique roles and opportunities she filled through out her career. We also touched on being both a mom and a service member and how she was able to find balance. Along with the challenge she faced as a woman having to prove herself over and over.
Know your goals in the Navy
Wanting to fly jets was what led Darlene to the Navy. And while that isn’t where she ended up it did lead to a successful career. She initially began her career in the Marine Corps. She applied for ROTC with the Navy and initially her scholarship was with the Marine Corps. Being the only woman and not feeling accepted she asked if she could switch to the Navy. She was able to make the switch and had a much better experience in the Navy ROTC program
First job
Her first job wasn’t really a job. She had nothing to do and asked continually for something to do. Eventually she was moved into Public Affairs (PA). She loved PA and put in her package to become a PA officer. But while waiting for the results she started a new job in leadership which she loved even more. She pulled her packet and followed that career path instead.
Themes from her career
As we discussed Darlene’s career there were a few themes that came out. One of the first was the importance of knowing what you want and then finding a way to make it happen. This came out knowing what jobs she wanted and even when it didn’t seem possible doing the work to find those vacancies.
Second, she talked about how she felt she always had to prove herself. This was a challenge that was highlighted by her time at Naval Post Graduate School. The negative comments about her being there and not belonging. She also mentioned how she felt she started at -10 and had to work up to ground level and then move forward to number 1. It was a continual challenge and required her to feel the pressure to prove so many past podcast guests have talked about.
Lastly, as a mom and service woman she talked about how to put both her career and family as a priority. This led to out of the box thinking, like participating in karate class with little kids. Hiring not only a nanny but someone who could run errands and make dinner so she could focus on time with her kids when she was home instead of all the responsibilities of a home, such as, cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.
Health
Today she is working to help advocate for people who have experienced challenges with health. Her husband suffers from early alzheimer’s and after completing a number of therapies they found a product that helps to elevate a persons GHK-Cu. This brought her husband back. He isn’t cured, but he had turned into a shell of himself. And this therapy has helped bring back the person who he used to be. She shared how it helps with depression, PTSD and other ailments. If you want to learn more, click here.
