Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Timothy Walter | 170325-N-FU443-001 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (March 29, 2017) Ship's Serviceman 1st Class...... read more read more
She finished her tasks at work, spent time with her four-year-old daughter, put her to bed, and just when the evening darkened, she set her mind to the next task – classwork. Every day presents a new challenge for Ship’s Serviceman 1st Class Alison Van Hook and most nights she adds more as she pursues her master’s degree from the University of Arkansas. It is a challenge that she is proud to tackle.
“I feel like I’ve been very, very blessed. A lot of people make excuses but my school work has never affected my job. I do it on my own time. I had my baby, I studied very hard and made rank fast,” Van Hook said.
She achieved the rank of first class petty officer in just five years and her motivation carried on toward her academic studies. She earned her bachelor’s degree in health care administration while on deployment in 2015 and is on pace to graduate with her master’s degree in business in early 2018.
“I’m just trying to make the best of out of my opportunities and make myself more marketable,” she said. Whether those opportunities are as an officer in the Navy or in a civilian career, she isn’t sure, but she is certain that she needs to press on and be prepared for the future.
It is part of the reason she chose to recruit in Fayetteville, Ark. She is a native of the state but her childhood home was much further south in lower elevations of El Dorado. When she had a chance to move back as a Navy recruiter, she chose the more rugged Ozarks, about 215 miles north of her hometown so that she could attend school and find a good home for her family.
“Everything worked out. I wanted to buy a house and this area is considered one of the best places to live in the country,” she said.
Despite the positives of the location and the opportunities, she does miss the camaraderie that she found unique aboard a sea-going ship.
“Everyone is like a big family at sea. It’s nice because I’m from the South,” she said.
She spoke of her shipboard family in terms of the people who did the same job as her but also about the Sailors she was able to assist as a ship’s serviceman.
“We run the stores, the Starbucks, and the barber shop,” she said, adding that most future Sailors are amazed by the fact that a brand named coffee shop exists on a Navy warship.
“They always seem fascinated by the Starbucks. They are surprised about the barbers, as well. I tell them, you have to have everything out at sea. Even if a future Sailors doesn’t want to do my job it makes them excited to understand what is available on a ship through the people in my rate,” she said.
And getting people excited about their future is what drives her to reach out to those around her in the Fayetteville area.
“I like finding my replacement in the Navy. The people I put in, I’m close to. I talked to them all the time. Even if they don’t get in, I still check on them. I want to be a mentor to these kids,” she said.
And as she mentors those coming into the recruiting office, she is also able to mentor her daughter and achieve her long-term educational goals.
“The best things about recruiting is being home with my baby and being able to go to school, particularly a brick and mortar school and not just online. When I was at sea I missed picking up my daughter from day care and being able to take her to the doctors. Just having that freedom to be able to go help my daughter if she is sick is so nice because I can be there,” she said.
As she puts it, the many tasks that stretch her day from finding future deckplate leaders to finishing her homework are less a burden and part of the reason for her continuing success.
“I have been able to accomplish my goals and stay motivated because with my faith in God, who gives me strength, my family and friends who give me support, and my daughter who gives me happiness so I can approach each day with a smile,” she said.
Navy Recruiting District Fayetteville is one of more than 20 stations under the command of Navy Recruiting District Nashville, which is responsible for recruiting efforts throughout more than 100,000 square miles of the states of Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky and Virginia.
For more information on NRD Nashville, visit us at http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/nashville/ or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NRD.Nashville
| Date Taken: | 03.29.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.29.2017 13:43 |
| Story ID: | 228467 |
| Location: | FAYETTEVILLE, AR, AR, US |
| Hometown: | EL DORADO, AR, US |
| Web Views: | 507 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Deckplates to Degrees: One Recruiter and a Drive to Excel, by PO1 Timothy Walter, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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