The theme for the opening icebreaker was “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work.” Delegates donned their favorite team colors, jerseys and T-shirts, mixed and mingled, competed in a variety of Auxiliary-hosted games, and enjoyed plenty of Mexican-style fare-the perfect recipe for a night to remember!Īccomplishing the business of the Association kicked off on Wednesday with the opening ceremony. The Committee reviewed the Association’s resolutions for relevance and continued need. NCOA’s Director of Government Affairs, Levi Sadr, facilitated the meeting. The Resolutions Committee met to help set the Association’s legislative course for the coming year. The San Antonio heat fueled the enthusiasm of NCOA members who gathered at the Holiday Inn San Antonio Riverwalk on July 18-21 for the 58th Annual NCOA Conference and Vanguard Awards Banquet. Read the complete article originally posted on Women’s Health Magazine here. Anything can be thrown my way, and I’m just like, “Everyone calm down, we can do this. soldier who went missing in April 2020 and was later found to have been killed by fellow solider Aaron David Robinson inside an armory at Fort Hood, Texas-to mental health crises in Latinx communities to Miss USA cheating allegations.īalancing two careers at the same time has been challenging, but my time in the military is also what helped me in the news business. I realized that I don’t need much, as long as I have my health and my routine.Įventually, when I returned home, I settled into my current role as an ABC News national correspondent, covering stories that range from military issues-including the murder of Vanessa Guillén, a 20-year-old U.S. I could never get over that.Ī lot of the luxuries that we have here, you don’t have over there. While deployed, I volunteered with the Iraqi Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, which was the most meaningful experience to me they were so aware that they were in the middle of a war-they knew why we were there-and still, they just had so much joy. What I tried to keep in mind during that year was not to become complacent. My employer was very understanding we even did a lot of stories about me leaving: the process and the steps you have to take to put your civilian life on hold before deploying to another country.īeing away from home was hard at first it was lonely. I had about a month to pack everything up, tell my employer, then take off.

Initially, finding out I was being deployed was a shock, but I also knew that that’s what I signed up for. In 2008, while I was in Kansas, I deployed to Baghdad for the first time for a year, serving as a historical ambassador at Camp Slayer in Victory Base Complex. I moved my way up the ranks while moving around the country: in South Carolina, I worked as an assignment editor for WIS-TV in Kansas, as a television news reporter for WIBW-TV in Missouri, as an anchor for KMBC in Washington, D.C., as a multi-platform reporter for ABC.ĭuring that time, I remained in the Reserve, reporting to units that corresponded with each new location, participating in training exercises and taking military courses. I started out as a private now, I’m a major in the Army Reserve. I started as an enlisted soldier then, after completing basic training and receiving my master’s degree in mass communication and media studies, I was commissioned and became a public affairs officer. I initially planned to join the Marines, but I ran into an Army recruiter before my decision was final, and they were able to offer me a schedule that worked better for pursuing my education and military service at the same time. As a native New Yorker, I wanted to do something for my country I wanted to be a part of something bigger, and I was drawn to the military. While I was still in undergrad, 9/11 happened. So, as soon as I got to college, I declared my major as broadcast journalism. I learned that you could make so much of an impact on people’s lives as a reporter, and that really motivated me. I started watching the news around 10th grade, and I was a big fan of WNBC. I’ve always known that I wanted to be a reporter.

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