Photo By Burrell Parmer | Lt. Sasha Smith is a member of United States Nurse Corps.... read more read more
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SAN ANTONIO – Navy Lt. Sasha Smith, a Navy nurse and native of Trujillo Atlo, Puerto Rico, was recognized as Navy Recruiting Command’s National Medical Officer Recruiter of the Year for Fiscal Year 2015 during the Recruiters of the Year ceremony held at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, Jan. 27.
Smith, a 1999 graduate from Medardo Carazo High School, first joined the Army as a heavy-wheel mechanic performing work on Humvees and the M939 series 5-ton truck.
During her five years of service with the Army, she deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.
According to Smith, she wanted to become a commissioned officer and help people as a nurse.
“I always wanted to be in the medical field, but was unable to enlist in that capacity with the Army,” said Smith. “My dream from the very beginning was to become a nurse.”
After the end of her enlistment in 2005, she returned to Puerto Rico and enrolled in Inter-American University where she majored in Nursing. In two years, she graduated Summa Claude with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing.
Immediately after graduation, she visited the local Navy Recruiting Station to inquire into a commission in the U.S Navy Nurse Corps.
Being fully qualified, she received a direct commission as an ensign and entered Officer Development School (ODS) in Newport, Rhode Island in 2008.
After graduating ODS, Smith received her first set of orders to Naval Medical Center Portsmouth Va., where served as a staff nurse on the medical surgical floor for 18 months. Afterwards she served as a labor and delivery nurse.
She was then transferred to Naval Hospital Rota Spain in 2010, where she served as a labor and delivery nurse and as head of the Department of the Ambulatory Care Unit. During her tour with the hospital, she was awarded the Clinical Nurse Award in 2012.
With a successful tour of duty in Rota Spain, Smith wished to broaden her career experience by becoming a medical officer recruiter. In 2013, she attended the Naval Officer Recruiting Unit in Pensacola, Fla.
After graduating, she was assigned to Navy Recruiting District (NRD) San Antonio.
During her tour, with NRD San Antonio, she has recruited more than 40 medical officers into Naval Service. She also serves as a Division Officer with 35 officer and enlisted recruiters under her charge.
Additionally, she has been recognized as the Medical Officer Recruiter of the Year for NRD San Antonio 2013 – 2015.
“I love being a recruiter which allows me the opportunity to inform people of the benefit of Naval Service and be able to let them know how the Navy has help me professionally, as well as, provide a means to better my education and become a leader,” said Smith.
From the 26 Recruiting Districts spread throughout the United States with recruiting stations overseas, she was selected as the best from more than 100 medical officer recruiters.
“I feel humble and honored to have been selected as the National Medical Officer Recruiter of the Year,” said Smith. “I was just doing my job…this proves that hard work pays off.”
For more information regarding serving as a Navy nurse and medical officer recruiter, contact Lt. Sasha Smith at sasha.smith@navy.mil.
| Date Taken: | 01.27.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.25.2016 12:57 |
| Story ID: | 190112 |
| Location: | TRUJILLO ATLO, PR |
| Web Views: | 882 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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