Photo By Neil Mabini | Julie Posusta, a system analyst in the Acquisition & Readiness Assessment Department...... read more read more
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Julie Posusta, 27, works in the Acquisition and Readiness Assessment Department at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division, as a systems analyst for reverse osmosis plants and potable water systems for surface ships. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in December 2018.
“I had always taken an interest in chemistry after my high school chemistry teacher gave me almost free reign over the small lab we had in my hometown,” Posusta said. “From there I went to engineering because I discovered I enjoyed fitting things together and making things on large scales. The best part about working for NSWC Corona is that I get to go on board Navy ships and see the equipment they keep on board to sustain the crew.”
As a child she thought she was just a weirdo who didn’t like being a boy, but was a boy so she couldn’t argue against that, Posusta said.
“I really would have liked to have known that transgender people existed when I was nine years old,” she said. “That would have saved me a lot of grief growing up! I would love to see the look on my younger self’s face when I say, ‘Hey kiddo, I know it’s tough right now, but I promise it’ll be okay. You get to wear pretty dresses and you get to marry a beautiful woman too and everyone will still love you.’”
Posusta’s secret would stay hidden until she felt safe enough to come out to a select group of family and friends. It took two years after that before she came out publicly. Her transition started in 2020, but she chose not to tell anyone. Once physical changes became more evident, like her hair getting longer, she decided it was time.
Before coming out to co-workers, Posusta said she had been a part of discussions that were mostly ambivalent, but since coming out everyone has been supportive and accepting.
“As soon as I came out, it was clear to me that I was in good hands,” Posusta said. “My division head came down to the office I was in at the time to personally tell me that not only did he have my back but that the command’s policies supported my decision as well. Knowing this gave me confidence to be my authentic self."
She came out publicly in mid-May and said she is glad that coming out as a transgender woman, and then later as a lesbian, didn’t jeopardize her employment.
“It’s such a relief! All of my friends here and colleagues respect me and care about me,” Posusta said. “I feel loved and valued. That’s the best part about the job. That’s job security! Being myself, and unapologetically so, is liberating, and I think my colleagues can tell that I’m in a much better space overall. It’s taken some getting used to by everyone, including me, but I think at this point everyone just sees me as Julie and not who I used to be, which is all I wanted.”
For Posusta, Pride Month is an affirmation that people like her are welcome in society at large, and they do not have to be afraid of existing in a genuine fashion.
“The culture has changed a lot lately as far as an increase in acceptance and it’s a step in the right direction," Posusta said. “We still have a long way to go as a country, but I think things are a lot better now than they were even five or six years ago. All we want is the same level of respect that you expect for being a person. We’re people too. And our existence is not political. Our identities are non-negotiable.”
She tries to be a good steward and foster growth for those around her so that the world is a better place when she leaves it. In that manner, Posusta finds herself educating allies who are unfamiliar with LGBTQ + A (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and/or queer, + {includes all others} and allies) issues and talking about things like micro-aggressions and how not to be rude unknowingly. For example, transgender is an adjective, not a noun, she said. So referring to transgenders instead of transgender people is considered rude, and it is not ok to ask a transgender person the status of his or her surgeries or transition, she added. That is personal and private information, according to Posusta, and to do so would be considered micro-aggression.
“Educating allies and others is good work and I like doing it, but it is so exhausting sometimes, especially when it falls on deaf ears,” she said. “Sometimes I can point out that a particular word is actually a slur and that’s enough, while other times pointing out that a well-meaning compliment is actually subtly insulting seems to be received as banal or uninspiring.”
Sometimes the biggest challenge is just existing and doing her best to keep it together when it seems the world is trying to tear her apart little by little. A lot of the challenge is internal, never being fully satisfied with the transgender process, she said.
Gender dysphoria, psychological distress resulting from an inconsistency between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity, is a real struggle for many.
“Those are the hard days,” Posusta said. “But then there are the good days, where I feel beautiful, I smile at everyone and everything, the world has color again, and I don’t feel like people are merely tolerating me.”
Posusta runs a support group for transgender women and has friends who were not supported in their decisions to come out. Her goal is to help those women find their voice and feel safe.
“Fear of what others may think of you makes you not feel safe, so you remain quiet about it," she said. "I’m happier for one thing. I don’t feel like I’m hiding anything anymore.”
NSWC Corona Division has provided analysis and assessment for the Navy since 1964. With experience in gauging the Navy’s warfighting capability, NSWC Corona is a leader in NAVSEA data analytics. Corona utilizes networked data environments, data and visualization, and measurement technology to bridge the Navy’s data silos, enabling informed decision-making for the warfighter. Anchor to the Inland Empire Tech Bridge, NSWC Corona is located in Norco, California, with detachments in Fallbrook and Seal Beach and personnel in 14 additional locations.
| Date Taken: | 06.08.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.09.2022 16:46 |
| Story ID: | 422538 |
| Location: | NORCO, CA, US |
| Hometown: | WOODLAND PARK, CO, US |
| Web Views: | 811 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Navy Systems Analyst Living, Serving as Her Authentic Self, by Linda Welz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach
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