Guest Blogger: Stacey Ebert
The Inspiring Interviews Blog Series will periodically highlight Veterans and Military Community Members around the country who are finding their purpose in connecting with their communities. These are people who want to help others in the Veteran space to get out and do more, formally and informally, and take control of their reintegration. We wanted to find out, in their own words, what worked for them during their military to civilian transition and how others can learn from their experience.
Tristan
Williamson lives in San Diego and is a City Impact Manager with The MissionContinues. A
veteran of the Navy, Tristan continues his mission to incorporate service to
community in and around the region. We met three years ago at a service project
in San Diego - in all of my involvement since, it seems that The Mission
Continues provides both the hammer and the hug that so many of us need to feel
as if we belong to something bigger than ourselves. Here Tristan shares his
story of military involvement, transition, growth and purposeful community
building.
What was your experience
in the military?
I
joined the Navy in 2004. An injury in boot camp saw my special program status
pulled and I was declared undesignated. I had scored a 92/99 on the ASVAB (qualifying
for any rate), but was unsure of what to put down. My mates told me about the
Aircrew apprentice program (which sounded exciting at the time), yet I wound up
gassing the Harriers on the deck of the USS Boxer. In less than a year we
deployed and I already wanted out of the Navy. Although advancements provided a
sense of purpose and knowing that were others who depended on me helped, it
wasn’t all I wanted it to be. Four years later, as a 3rd class petty
officer/ABF 3, I took a 90-day early out and was in school a month later.
How did you find the
process of re-entry into civilian life?
The
GI Bill helped send me to school at Indiana University. I craved learning yet
found myself going to class, back to the parking lot and back again. I was
asked (along with a Navy chaplain friend) to start a student veteran
organization and that began to bring me back to life again. Getting involved
made a huge difference. After that I joined group after group, cultivated a
greater sense of community and decided that continued service was what I wanted
to do.
How did The Mission
Continues help in your transition?
I
figured out that I was built more for public service than the private sector.
When the TMC fellowship came up in 2012, I jumped at it. I learned a lot and
had a great mentor who recognized my further interest in the organization. At
big events, I saw all of these people my own age really having fun at their
jobs; I went to my mentor and said, ‘I want to do that’. After running the
shelter at the Veteran’s Village of San Diego for a while, in 2013 I joined The
Mission Continues as the City Impact Manager for San Diego and Phoenix and have
been here ever since.
How has your community
service involvement impacted your life?
At
this point I’ve done almost 100 service projects and still get goose bumps when
I meet new recruits, hang out with TMC Ambassadors, get to encourage and work
with platoon members and interact with local community organizers and members.
I still smile when I get asked ‘you do what for a living’? Everyday we feel the
impact of the veteran community. TMC changes the notion of ‘thank you for your
service’ to ‘yes, we still need you and this is what you can do’. It’s shown me
the benefit of repurposing skills, community involvement and those that come
with sharing service amidst both veterans and civilians.
How can
veterans/civilians get involved?
We
know that there are still people out there with that intrinsic spirit of
service that stretches beyond the military. Perhaps the military engendered it,
or maybe it became more apparent afterwards, but that energy and passion is
there. The camaraderie in the military is powerful. We learn that we exist for
each other and it’s quite possible that many of us owe more of who we’ve become
to the military than we ever before thought. Our service projects, like the latest
summit project in Houston which took four hours to shave more than a year’s
work off of the reopening timeline for a part of the Houston Botanic Gardens
that was decimated by floodwaters, shift perspective. The Mission Continues
offers community, connectivity and that greater sense of purpose in life after
the military. Find a local service platoon and give it a try.
Stacey Ebert is a civilian supporter who works with various Veteran services in different aspects. She is a freelance writer, event planner, blogger, volunteer coordinator, educator and yogi who has traveled to over 50 of the world’s countries. Writing about adventure, journey and perspective changing life shifts, she encourages travelers to take the leap, use the world as their classroom and get outside their comfort zones. She is a former high school teacher and has a love of travel, hiking, yoga, dark chocolate and all things beach-related. She has lived in Long Beach (New York), Melbourne (Australia) and is presently based in San Diego (California). Check out her blog at thegiftoftravel.wordpress.com. Stacey frequently volunteers with The Mission Continues San
Diego platoons.