A Message for Veterans Day

This message is for those who serve, have served or may ever be called to serve our country.

This message is to organizations looking for their next generation of leaders.

This message is from a veteran who will forever cherish her service and wants to pay it forward.

I’m Maggie Malek, and I’m the CEO of MMI Agency . We are an integrated digital creative and media agency within Stagwell, and I was inspired to share my story on this Veteran’s Day. To be honest, it’s much more than I’m typically comfortable sharing. So, why now?

One powerful impetus is our company’s recent partnership with VetsinTech . VetsinTech (VIT) supports our current and returning veterans with re-integration services and by connecting them to the national technology ecosystem. VIT is committed to bringing together a tech-specific network, resources, and programs for our veterans interested in education, entrepreneurship, and employment. Their genesis and mission ring very true to me.

It also got me thinking about the unique journeys of all those who have served our country. Those experiences, though differing by branch, base and mission, share common threads: timeless lessons in leadership; unforgettable illustrations of courage and camaraderie; and everyday reminders of values, ethics and teamwork. They also often carry similar post-service baggage. Physical and emotional trauma. Scars you can see and hidden ones that fade, resurface and lurk in the shadows. Struggles to find ourselves. Emptiness from the void left by military teammates and their unspoken bonds whose strength is beyond compare.

I wanted to share my journey, because I never could’ve imagined then how the worlds of technology, creativity and innovation would so powerfully converge with my military experience to create unfathomable opportunities.

I wanted to write so that vets might take the time to realize and recognize their enormous potential and power, should they doubt it for even a second.

I wanted to shout loudly and (largely) unfiltered in the hopes that corporate America might lean in with an earnest ear.

Because our veterans are capable of moving mountains. They just need the opportunity. I know from experience.

You see, my family was military – specifically my grandpa and uncle. I grew up listening with rapt attention as they shared stories of their time overseas in WWII and Vietnam. I thought they were magic.?I took my uncle to every single Veterans Day program through elementary school – my own personal superstar. Fast forward to high school. My dad committed suicide, and I was lost, angry and searching. After 9/11, those emotions intensified. I yearned to be a part of something bigger. I thought of my grandpa and uncle. The next thing I knew I was sitting in my car in front of the Army Recruiter's office. I signed up on the spot.

A few months later, I joined 200 young men and women in Fort Leonard Wood Missouri training to be a Chemical Operations Specialist. The fact that I was a female wasn’t top-of-mind until I’d settled into my training bay and started doing the math. There were very few of us. Panic came next. How was I, a former pageant girl from Texas, going to keep up? Then, a female Drill Sergeant walked in (screaming) and my flame was lit. I wanted to be her. I pushed myself harder than I have ever pushed myself. I rose through the ranks and made sure to finish first in nearly everything, so that no one could say I couldn’t keep up with the boys. By the end, I was one of the fastest runners and best shots. I was doing things that I never dreamed I could do. I was unstoppable.

I also fell in love with the people in my unit – the same people that terrified me on day one. We came from places all over the world, with different perspectives and reasons for joining. We were a kaleidoscope of hopes, dreams and humanity knit together by one common purpose. We were family. Before we met in that training bay, we were all alone in our own ways. But something in each of us called us to run toward battle, rather than away from it. To run toward hard things. To stand up and say “I will.” That common purpose meant we were no longer alone. The training bay, and those people, became my safe space. When we walked in the room, we all committed together to being excellent. That is something I will carry with me forever.

Oddly enough, while I was in basic training, I also fell in love with writing. You have a lot of downtime and I used every bit of it to write. I wrote letters, stories, poems. I was obsessive. I wrote until my hand would cramp up. Hundreds of pages that I still have today. After graduation, our Fort Leonard Wood family scattered to the wind. My support system, and companion creative outlet of writing, blew away with our respective departures.?

I returned to my home unit in Houston, Texas that was part of a homeland defense program. Remember, this was right after 9/11. We were trained to be the force stateside should anything ever happen on our shores. We trained for hours in chemical suits and all over the country, in different terrains, practicing different scenarios. This unit became my new family. But nothing was ever quite the same.

Outside of the Army Reserves, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I tried bartending, I tried wedding planning. I worked at Abercrombie and American Eagle. I was a nanny. I worked at an apartment complex. I just kept trying. No matter where I was, I took the things I learned in the Army with me. If I was going to fold clothes or wait tables, I was going to do it with excellence. One day my mom told me that I should look for something that combined my love of people and writing… and that is how I ended up majoring in communications at the University of Houston. I had two jobs at the same time I was going to school. I was constantly exhausted, but I was committed to being the person I met in basic training. I landed internships and taught myself to code. I didn’t have an off switch. I look back and that girl is amazing to me. Her drive and tenacity. I wish I could go back and tell her to be patient with herself.

Eventually, I paired my passion for writing with my love of people and landed in communications. A wonderful woman in my hometown gave me the break I needed, placing trust in me to build a digital practice. That agency was MMI. A decade later I was named its CEO. In the Army, I embraced a level of intensity and commitment to mission that is unmatched. That drive and those values were poured wholly into our people when I took command. We faced a pandemic. We merged with a sister agency. Challenges of remote work, mental health and more emerged. The lessons I learned in Fort Leonard were and are my ever-present compass. With those experiences as a guide, we’ve more than weathered the storm. Our company has flourished. Our people programs are industry-leading. Our clients are happier, and I remain as in love with the agency and our people as I was 12 years ago.

So here is my message to all Veterans, and to any young female soldier chasing a dream. You matter. Your dreams matter. You are more than enough. The world needs you, now more than ever. Your size, stature or background doesn’t define you. You’ve done harder things than most people can imagine. You have jumped fences, you have crawled through the mud, you have stood beside your brothers and your sisters, and you have won. Being enlisted in the military is the great equalizer. You have scars on your heart that no one can see but you used what you learned in the military to knit yourself back together. You are a fighter. And I’ve got your six.

And my message to corporate America? Expand your aperture. The modern business world is driven by technology and innovation, with creativity at the heart of both. And today’s environment demands performance built upon foundations of discipline and analytical rigor. These two worlds must not only integrate but inspire people in a way that fosters teamwork and collaboration. There are few better suited to deliver on this challenge than our veterans.?

Let’s show these men and women that their sacrifice is valued. Everything that I am, everything I’ve done, can be traced back to my acts of service. I can say now, with the wisdom of time, that joining our nation’s military was the greatest decision I ever made.?

With never-ending gratitude,

Maggie Malek, CEO, MMI

Inspired by this message? Join Stagwell in our support for VetsinTech . VetsinTech supports our current and returning veterans with re-integration services, and by connecting them to the national technology ecosystem. VIT is committed to bringing together a tech-specific network, resources, and programs for our veterans interested in Education, Entrepreneurship, and Employment.