My Story, My Purpose

One year ago I left the military to pursue my dream to work in corporate America. I know right, weird! I wanted to wear a suit and work in the city (Pittsburgh). I landed that corporate job as a Program Manager at Highmark Inc. - one of the largest health insurers in the U.S. The journey to land that job took six months and as you would expect, it was filled with highs and lows.

Prior to leaving the military I was told that the transition into the civilian world would be difficult. Finding a job, building a professional network, paying for healthcare (it's free as an Active Duty military member), finding a place to live, and raising our first child were some of the challenges we were up against. Covid-19 only exacerbated the problem. Everything in the north essentially shut down for months. Hiring freezes were the new norm but we managed to make it through those six months with our family intact and brand new addition - a beautiful baby girl.

I was able to think a lot during that time. If I wasn't writing a cover letter or drafting a resume to submit, I would just sit there and think. How can I make this better for veterans and their families transitioning into the civilian world? It sparked an idea and gave me purpose. I will use this forum to outline my plan to create a web of vets. Highlights, status updates, and general information about me will be posted throughout the week. Several obstacles stand in my way.

I have limited technical knowledge from a software engineer's perspective but I'm not going to allow that to stop me. I will make this happen. This initiative has motivated me to learn and pursue my own startup. I'm going to leverage the knowledge on this site to help me better understand how the tech community works from both a business and technical aspect while adding value to others.

Cheers!