I joined the U.S. Army in February 2010 after being a college athletic trainer for 5 years.  I wanted to do more with my life, and I always wanted to serve my country. After basic training, I attended Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Benning Georgia.  I spent a year as a transportation officer before going through selection to be on the Female Engagement Team (FET) where I would soon deploy to Afghanistan for the first time.  After three years assigned to the FET, I returned to the transportation world and then logistics.  
The military was my world and I never considered doing anything else.  I had many jobs in my career, but my favorites besides being on the FET were Company Commander and Battalion Executive Officer.  Both positions allowed me to be face to face with Soldiers and directly influence them in their personal and professional life.  Although these positions had their advantages, they had their disadvantages as my hands were tied in many areas.  My focus changed during my last deployment when I couldn't be the individual I wanted to be for Soldiers because I was their commander.  It also shifted because of my own behavioral health journey.
I retired in March 2022 because I wanted to be more than an authority figure and/or leader to service members.  Having gone through my own behavioral health journey due to 5 deployments which included combat and humanitarian missions, my desire was to help others heal their trauma wounds.  When individuals lose perspective they are in a dark and lonely place.  Someone must hold on to hope for them until they can find it themselves.  This was done for me; therefore, I want to do the same for others. 
After a lot of thought and consideration, I went back to school attending Saint Edwards University to receive a Masters of Arts in Counseling.