Photo By Chief Petty Officer Joshua Keim | Courtesy Photo | 190527-O-ZZ999-1001 — Operations Specialist 2nd Class Giavanni...... read more read more
HOUSTON (NNS) – The field was thunderous as she strode forward from the warning track. The carefully cut blades of grass, finely ground clay-colored dirt, and 40,000 cheering voices muffled the sound of her footsteps. Along the towering walls and all around her were enormous brightly colored displays, dozens of camera operators, and thousands of dazzling lights, reminding her of her own days as a spectator; days when she had sat on her grandmother’s sofa in front of a television screen, filled with excitement, watching Beyoncé sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in front of thousands of zealous sports fans. The stealthy, nervous thought that had nibbled at her all afternoon slunk forward again, but she forced it back with a valiant effort and took a deep breath. “Breathe, breathe,” she said to herself donned in her Navy Dress White Uniform. “Don’t mess this up.”
It was the third time Operations Specialist 2nd Class Giavanni D. Walker had performed the national anthem for Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park in her hometown of Houston. A big-city girl with big-city dreams, Walker grew up in a family of musicians and singers with the sounds of music chartering her inescapable path to center field. She joined the Navy in 2013 and, after completing her first tour on an aircraft carrier, she reported to Navy Talent Acquisition Group (NTAG) Houston where she has flourished as a talent scout, recruiting the next generation of Navy leaders.
“I knew there were young men and women who didn’t know what was on the other side of the door aside from the rumors and movies,” she explained. “I wanted to be someone’s light into success like a recruiter was for me.”
Walker joined the Navy looking for new adventures, free education, work experience, and a journey around the world, but her extraordinary voice and musical artistry could not be hidden for long. Before she knew it, the entire command had heard her euphonic melodies – vulnerable, eloquent yet powerful.
“Once everyone found out I could sing,” she said, “I was singing at nearly every ceremony, program, game, and memorial.”
Walker plays the piano and guitar, and she’s working on learning the deep thuds and tight cracks and crashes of percussion and drum sets. She sings and creates music as a form of self-expression, but her most loyal joy is one at the core of basic human needs – the longing for deep, meaningful connection with other people.
“Singing and performing mean the world to me,” she said with a warm smile. “I love big crowds and sharing my music with people. Nothing feels better than going to perform and people know the words to my music. Just knowing that the things I write about are relative to what other people experience makes me happy.”
Walker released her first album in 2019 and plans to release a second in 2021. She writes her own music and lyrics – rhapsodic words and melodies that revive and personify past relationships and struggles. She plans to release a special project in the Fall of 2020, which she calls Enigmə (pronounced i-nig-muh): A series of spoken word poetry performances similar to slam poetry and intended to reach audiences through rhyme, repetition, improvisation, and word play. She incorporates her personal musical variety into her music as well as her poetry; a variety consulted by an arrangement of rhythm and blues, psychedelic rock, and jazz peppered with the unintended but beautiful, gnostic flair of gospel.
“Singing and performing, music, writing, being creative, and generally just being an artist are what I feel I’m meant to do,” she said. “I’ll do it as long as I possibly can.”
In the Navy, Walker’s peers and senior leaders describe her as proactive, inspirational, efficient, and selfless. She has a handful of classes left until she graduates with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and she was recently selected as NTAG Houston’s Junior Sailor of the Quarter for the third quarter of 2020. She wants to work with children after she retires from the Navy, but she’s already putting her education and interest in child development into practice through her volunteer service with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Southeast Texas. Texas CASA volunteers must pass a vigorous background check and swear an oath of confidentiality before being assigned to a foster child or family. Once approved and assigned to a child’s case, volunteers spend time with and advocate for children and families during court proceedings by offering recommendations to judges based on a child’s observed needs and living conditions.
“It’s extremely rewarding to see children get out of abusive or neglectful situations and transition into an environment that is healthy for their cognitive and physical development,” Walker said. “When I was assigned my first case and saw the position that child was in with the child’s parents, I was like ‘wow, I can’t imagine growing up like that.’ I didn’t realize how bad child abuse is out here, physically and emotionally, and we’re advocates for those children because they can’t advocate for themselves.”
People are born wired for social connection, and Walker’s volunteer service, like her service to the nation and sharing her music, is another means by which she forges meaningful connections with other people and pioneers her own path to success.
While she enjoys being an operations specialist, Walker said she found her niche in Navy recruiting and would like to pursue a permanent role in Navy talent acquisition. But no matter her rating, job title, pay grade, or duty station, whether she’s performing in the studio for her next album, in the hangar bay for a retirement ceremony, or in front of 40,000 exuberant Astros fans at Minute Maid Park, one thing is certain: This Navy recruiter is destined for greatness and is sure to touch the lives of many on her way there.
To listen to Walker on Spotify, YouTube, iTunes, or to follow her on social media, visit https://linktr.ee/giavannidenemusic.
NTAG Houston has 34 Navy recruiting stations covering more than 44,000 square miles in rural and metropolitan areas around Southeastern Texas and Western Louisiana. NTAG Houston has two Talent Acquisition Onboarding Centers – TOAC Space City and TAOC Bayou City – and employs more than 300 recruiters, support personnel and civilians. Follow NTAG Houston on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/NTAGhouston) and Instagram (@NTAG_Houston).
For more news from Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, go to http://www.cnrc.navy.mil. Follow Navy Recruiting on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MyNAVYHR), Twitter (@USNRecruiter) and Instagram (@USNRecruiter).
| Date Taken: | 08.18.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 08.18.2020 14:41 |
| Story ID: | 376247 |
| Location: | HOUSTON, TX, US |
| Hometown: | HOUSTON, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 3,885 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Houston Recruiter Makes an Impact Through Her Music, by CPO Joshua Keim, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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