Podcast Teaser: A Journey of Service and Excellence

14 Jun 2025 · 4 min

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3:39

In this monologue, the speaker recounts how personal support from her husband and a pivotal sponsorship propelled her career in the Air Force. After her husband left the military, she sought a deputy base commander position in Boston. A senior sponsor, Larry O., immediately advocated for her, leading to her appointment in 2006. In Boston, she briefed every four‑star officer on diversity, hosted the first AFA convention where all four‑star leaders gathered, and flawlessly managed over 80 volunteers to execute the post‑9/11 conference. She also led the base through an operational inspection and leveraged her role as the base’s Black History officer to influence senior leaders on diversity. The narrative emphasizes that visibility to the right decision‑makers, combined with dedication to diversity and volunteer leadership, enabled her professional advancement.

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assistance, right? Sponsorship. And, um, he said, uh, so I came back and I said, hey, uh, my husband then had, you know, gotten out of the military. And I'm like, my husband is the nicest guy in the world, but busy. If he's not working, he's not a nice guy. I, I got to keep that guy, you know, happy because he puts up with me, and that's a whole nother story. So, and he's always been my biggest supporter, you know, go baby, go. I got the kids, go do you. So, you know, when I got to make sure he's happy because, you know, hey, I'm just saying. So I came back and I said, look, I want to go to Boston. You know, I know they've got a position open there as the deputy base commander. And he goes, I don't know why you want to go to Boston. It's cold there. And he didn't say, I'll get back with you. He didn't say, go do. 15 things. Immediately he picked up the phone, he called the wing commander who would be my boss and said, hello, this is Larry O. I've got a GI here, uh, I hear you got a job open. She's gonna wow you and, uh, she's gonna send you a package. And he hung up the phone and he looked at me and said, don't embarrass me. Busy. That job got me to '06. Wow. I went there. I got the opportunity to sit in front of every 4-star in the entire Air Force talking about diversity. I got the opportunity to host every 4-star in the Air Force at an AFA convention, the first event where all 4-stars were assembled. After 9/11, and it was flawless. I was in charge of over 80 volunteers that put that conference on. I mean, it was, it was just an amazing time. I mean, and, and the last thing was, you know, that I got an opportunity to lead the base's efforts through an operational inspection. Wow. And so all of those things, you know, just get— because it's about— it wasn't that I wasn't good, I just didn't have the— I wasn't in front of the right people, right? And so, you know, how I got to sit in front of all the four stars was I was in charge of Black history for the base, and I was riding back in the car with the four-star escorting him and his aide to their, to their, to their, um, um, DV quarters. And he said, "Gee, you know, we really got to get this, this, this diversity thing right."