Photo By Chief Petty Officer Benjamin Dobbs | 220505-N-RB168-0400 GREECE, N.Y. (May 5, 2022) Navy Counselor 1st Class Melissa...... read more read more
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As a first-generation American, and the first in her family to serve in the military, Navy Counselor 1st Class Melissa Garcia, leading petty officer for Navy Recruiting Station Greece, was raised to be patriotic.
Garcia, assigned to Navy Talent Acquisition Group (NTAG Pittsburgh), was born in Pomona, California, and moved to El Paso, Texas, before her freshman year. She enlisted in the Navy shortly after graduating from El Dorado High School in 2009.
“Both of my parents were born in Mexico,” Garcia said. “My parents had to earn their citizenship. My mom and my dad have three kids, but I still remember the day my mom got her citizenship. I was in elementary school, and I remember her crying and talking about how it's like the happiest day of her life. They always raised us to give back to the country and to be grateful for all the opportunities we have here.”
Garcia, now a mother of four herself, always knew she wanted to serve, but she didn't think she was going to make a full career out of it. She originally enlisted as a Logistics Specialist (LS) on the reserve side.
As an LS, while assigned to Fleet and Industrial Supply Center (FISC) Yokosuka, Garcia participated in providing humanitarian assistance in direct support of Operation Tomodachi, after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami off the eastern coast of northern Japan.
“I was able to go out to Japan to help them distribute at the warehouse,” Garcia said. “We were collecting blankets, water bottles, canned goods, things that the ships and subs were bringing in for us to help out. That was the very first humanitarian mission I was able to do with the Navy.”
Garcia became a Navy Counselor in March 2020 and reported to NTAG Pittsburgh in December of that year.
“I never thought I would end up coming onboard recruiting,” Garcia said. “I was still in the reserves. I came back from deployment and I was ready to go active duty. I wanted to go and I felt at that point it was the right time, because my boys were older.”
Though Garcia admittedly never had a true love for public speaking, she not only adapted but excelled at it as a recruiter.
“It was getting in front of the students, getting to work with my community and getting to change people’s lives. I can’t compare that feeling to anything else,” Garcia said. “I just felt like I found my place, like I found my calling.”
Those who best know Garcia may regard her as a workaholic.
“I just love what I do, and when I'm in the office, I lose track of time,” Garcia said.
That determination and work ethic led her to be recognized as NTAG Pittsburgh’s LPO of the month in March and LPO of the quarter during the second quarter of fiscal year 22 at Pittsburgh.
However, she is in tune with the factors that motivate her each day.
“When we do have time off and we are home, I feel like my kids not only get my undivided attention, but I make sure to tell them that because of the Navy we have this leave and because of the Navy we have the quality of life we have, so I make sure that they know the benefits behind me putting in that work,” Garcia said.
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NTAG Pittsburgh, part of Navy Recruiting Command, recruits the next generation of Navy Sailors throughout areas in Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia and Maryland.
Navy Recruiting Command consists of a command headquarters, two Navy Recruiting Regions and 26 Navy Talent Acquisition Groups that serve more than 1,000 recruiting stations across the world. Their combined goal is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of America’s Navy.
For more news from Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, go to http://www.cnrc.navy.mil. Follow Navy Recruiting on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MyNAVYHR), Twitter (@USNRecruiter) and Instagram (@USNRecruiter).
| Date Taken: | 05.10.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 05.10.2022 10:18 |
| Story ID: | 420340 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 396 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Recruiter, First-Generation American Proud to be First in Family to Serve, by CPO Benjamin Dobbs, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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