(not so) Average Jane: Her Story

Tracy Ardrey retired from the Army as a Sergeant First Class (SFC) in 2005, seeing combat at the close of her military career. She gladly supported the Operation Iraqi Freedom mission after nearly two decades of the Army supporting her. That did not come without a heavy burden encased in anger she carried for nearly two decades after that.

Ashley Paminto joined the Army in 2006 and deployed to Iraq in 2008 in a supporting role to an aviation unit. We talk feminine struggles, baby blessings, male egos, and music therapy. Ashley's story is one of continued perseverance.

Chelsea Majeske, a Marine and two time combat veteran, led some of the most dangerous, yet, instrumental missions in Iraq. She discusses the mental challenges she faced as a woman in the midst of operational decisions and the impact it's had on her nearly 20 years later. Yet, she fights every day to thrive in memory and in honor of those she lost along the way.

Kimberly Herm joined the Navy through the ROTC program with intentions of being a pilot. After discovering she had extreme motion sickness, she pivoted - leveraging her degree to become a part of the civil engineer core. She soon found herself on a solo deployment to help rebuild Afghanistan, often being placed in extremely vulnerable situations for the sake of the mission. Kimberly's unique position afforded success that may have otherwise failed without her; however, that did not come without a price. Kimberly is now rediscovering who she is as she starts her transition out of the military as well as her healing journey. 

Lacy Jo Keller joined the Marines in 2008, motivated by 9-11 to do the "patriotic thing". Growing up around horses and large farming equipment, she found herself opting to train as a combat engineer and operating large machinery in a male dominated environment often having to go well above and beyond the standards to prove herself worthy. After serving two deployments to Afghanistan with only a six month break, she returned home decorated with merits but feeling broken, looking for help, and eventually self medicating. Thanks to a good friend and a new approach, Lacy found her way back to herself and now inspires others to do the same.

Linda Schulze joined the Air Force in 1997 with a family inspired passion for food and serving people. Little did she know, that would evolve into one of the most difficult and honorable tasks in serving our fallen veteran brothers and sisters. Linda spent 17 years supporting missions around the world battling the mental and emotional merry-go-round that comes with multiple rotations into combat zones. These struggles came with a psychological price tag. Even though Linda knew she would benefit from professional help, the fear of loss led to avoiding outreach resulting in unnecessary challenges and unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Annie and her twin brother were raised by their father and extended family after tragically losing their mother. Instead of allowing this trauma to define her, with the help of her family she developed a thirst for knowledge from a very young age. This appetite projected her into some very inspiring career moves and a library of passports.

In this episode I walk you through my career path and discuss key challenges I faced, how I over came them, and lessons learned.

Tawana’s childhood was filled with lies, chaos, and dysfunction - where she often portrayed the role of mother to her younger sister. She was filled with negativity from those that should have been filling her with love. Even still, she found strength in the extreme dark, became her own number one fan, and persevered to become one of the most intelligent, kind, and successful women I’ve come to know.

It takes a special kind of strength to tackle a federal law-enforcement career as a woman, not to mention balancing in being a wife and mother. But Cindy‘s heart, work ethic, and determination has allowed her to do so and so much more.