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(Story by Army Capt. David E. Leiva, USARCENT Public Affairs)
SALWA, Kuwait – Army Maj. Carlos Barrera holds a doctorate in immunology and microbiology from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. The recently promoted officer received a direct commission into the Army Medical Corps in 2006. Barrera, who served as the assistant chief of microbiology at Camp Arifjan, has successfully completed his deployment and is returning to his native state of Texas.
In April, he earned the right to add a new line to his resume: international public speaker.
The San Antonio resident gave his tenth Toastmaster speech, earning a standing ovation before a group of about 50 people at the Pearl of the Gulf Toastmaster Club in Salwa, about 10 miles outside Kuwait City. The speech – about the keys to longevity – earned him the group’s competent communicator designation.
“To say it was an amazing experience would be to downplay it,” said Barrera, an avid athlete and medical researcher with unending enthusiasm who came to the United States in 1993 with a master’s degree in medical microbiology from Colombia. “I had no idea Toastmasters existed until four months ago, and where it would take me in no time. It is one of the best professional development decisions I have ever made.”
Barrera, a member of 223rd Medical Detachment (Preventive Medicine), was one of 10 members of the Camp Arifjan-based Arifjan Articulators who were invited to an open meeting held by the women’s only Pearl of the Gulf club on April 30. The Articulators are the camp’s club that works with Soldiers of all ranks to develop communication skills.
About four times a year, the Pearl, made up of professional Kuwaiti businesswomen, opens up its doors to nonmembers, offering speaking slots and ideas while noshing over a spread of local favorite salty pastries along with cheese, meat, and spinach pizzas.
Founded in 1932 in California, Toastmasters International boasts a membership of 313,000 members at 14,650 clubs in 126 nations. Among military circles, the Arifjan
Articulators joins several other military-niche Toastmasters groups, including the Pentagon Armed Forces Toastmasters, Army Sustainment Command G-1 Toastmasters, Fort Gordon Toastmasters and Fort Leavenworth Toastmasters.
On this occasion, Wafaa Salman, the Pearl’s treasurer and a Toastmaster division governor in Kuwait, was giving her final speech required to earn the Distinguished Toastmaster designation, a feat that comes after successfully completing 40 speeches. This one was on interpersonal communications.
Maj. Henry Opolot, of the 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, discovered the Arifjan Articulators earlier this year after seeing a flier. He decided to pay the club a visit hoping to improve his ability to think quickly on his feet. Weeks later, the club voted him its president. Opolot gave an impromptu two-minute speech at the meeting, claiming success over his communication nemesis.
“There’s an art form to public speaking. Intuitively, I knew that,” the 2000 West Point graduate said. “I just didn’t realize how every slight gesture, verbal pause, poor body language and weak introduction of a speaker takes away from the message. I find myself more conscience of it than ever before.”
A partnership forms
The Arifjan Articulators club was formed in 2008, and has maintained a steady membership, but the partnership with the Pearl of the Gulf began with several American expatriates, according to Dr. Grace MacGregor, a dual member and mentor at both clubs.
MacGregor, a psychotherapist in Kuwait who plans to move into life coaching, drives to Camp Arifjan every Monday to participate with other civilians who have been the mainstay over the years. She said it is beneficial for Soldiers and local Toastmasters to speak to a different audience and learn from others.
“It’s fun and seeing that the one club you know about isn’t the only club, or the only way of doing things (is valuable),” the former Toastmaster governor in Kuwait said.
Salman, of the Pearl of the Gulf, said the open meetings take on a more festive and business-like cultural exchange that offers new experiences, spirit and style of speeches, and the Arifjan group interaction complements the meeting.
“(The Arifjan Articulators club) has a special taste with variety of experience, knowledge and backgrounds and this adds value,” said Salman, who will soon fly to the United States for the first time to participate in an international Toastmasters conference in Las Vegas. “And for sure with our great hospitality they always promise to come again, and they always keep their promises.”
Already, the relationship has taken on new meaning recently with more speaking excursions presenting themselves. Earlier this month, Capt. Jennifer Clarke, of the 595th Transportation Brigade, was invited to speak at a Toastmaster district tournament held at the Australian University in Kuwait. Impressed by her speech, she has now received offers to speak at various locations throughout this Toastmaster region, including Australia. Clarke is closing in on her tenth speech.
Capt. Estela Barrios, of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command, happened to attend the Pearl of the Gulf meeting as a guest this month. It was her very first introduction to Toastmasters International, something that she said has left a lasting impression on her as a self-development tool and cultural exchange.
Barrios will ride Clarke’s coattails when she returns to give her very first speech before a closed meeting at the Pearl of the Gulf, emphasizing education as a means of empowerment.
Born in Venezuela, Barrios, who holds masters and law degrees from a Venezuelan university, migrated to the United States in 2003 without speaking a word of English. Over the next eight months, she attended English language classes in order to find work because her degrees did not transfer in America. She was eventually allowed to enter the Army by the end of 2004. Now, she serves as the deputy human resource officer for an organization with more than 10,000 people in it.
“I am very comfortable speaking behind a podium, but out in the open is a whole new experience,” Barrios said. “But, I think that’s what life is all about: finding yourself while exploring new possibilities. Toastmasters has quickly become part of that for me.”
| Date Taken: | 05.21.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.24.2015 04:53 |
| Story ID: | 164397 |
| Location: | ARIFJAN, KW |
| Hometown: | SAN ANTONIO, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 80 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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