As a veteran, marathoner, and graduate student every day presents its unique challenges, however, I stand ready to face them due to the experiences that I’ve had to get here. My graduate degree is in speech pathology; it is my profession to rehabilitate those who have lost their ability to communicate. To teach others to communicate one must first possess robust communication skills themselves. As a former captain in the Army leadership is a quality that is engrained in me. I leverage that facet of my old profession, in my new one by assuming leadership roles at our national professional organization, the American Speech & Language Hearing Association (ASHA). I am a 2023 recipient of the Minority Student Leadership grant and will be going to Boston this November to further nurture my leadership potential. Resiliency and determination are traits that I am grateful to the Army for having instilled in me. As a marathoner and graduate student there is never a scarcity of pressing tasks. I am currently training for the Chicago Marathon; my training plan has me running 75-90 miles a week for 16 weeks. The only way for me to maintain this mileage is by fitting it in around class/clinic. Waking up at 5:30 a.m. six days a week to run 10-22 miles is not something I would have been able to do before my military career. Marathon training isn’t easy, but I am determined to crack 2:45:00. During my deployment to Iraq, I had a soldier caught in the blast of a suicide vest detonation. He was thrown fifteen feet, suffering from a broken arm and rib. Unfortunately, injuries are rarely open-and-shut cases. There is a strong likelihood that my soldier suffered a traumatic brain injury that will surface decades from now when his faculties are no longer at their prime. It is this experience that inspired me to pursue an MA in speech pathology. I equate leadership to service, and service is very important to me. I believe my experience as an Army officer puts me in a unique position to continue serving the veteran community. I can relate to those suffering from the effects of war because I have been there myself. When experiencing trying times it is comforting to know that your clinician understands where you’re coming from. I aim to be that clinician. My professional goal is to work for the Veterans Administration hospital network. Veterans are an integral part of our community. Their service and experiences help form the fabric of American society. Over my eight years on active duty, and through my subsequent transition to civilian life, I’ve realized that most Americans spend very little time thinking about the geopolitical ramifications of their nation's foreign policy. Veterans, through our voice and activism, help alleviate some of that ignorance and apathy. We bring closer-to-home events that occur out of sight and out of mind for most citizens. Communities that care for their veterans, and successfully reintegrate them, are richer and more prolific than those that fail to. Veterans bring a global perspective that, if properly harnessed, is a powerful force multiplier; propelling the great engine that makes America a leader on the world stage.