My Path from the Air Force to the Energy Industry

Last fall in a downtown Houston hotel, I squeezed together on a stage with 24 other military veterans celebrating our careers in the energy sector. It was such an honorable moment to be recognized with my peers whom I respect so much – we were smiling from ear to ear after just being named the inaugural class of Hart Energy’s “25 Impactful Veterans in Energy.”

I couldn’t help but feel proud and reflect in that moment. Honestly, I never set out to build my career in the energy sector. I tell most people I just fell into it after I left the military. But in that moment, I felt grateful to be a part of a company that values and celebrates my military experience and has regularly shown its commitment to developing my career.

Several members of my family served in the military – my father was in the Air Force, my aunt was in the Army and my uncles were in the military. I decided to enlist because it felt like the right thing to do, and while a college degree was my eventual goal, I knew I wasn’t ready or disciplined enough to go straight to college. I knew I wanted to do something different and get real life experience that I could leverage in a future career. It didn’t hurt that the military would pay for my college education—it made me want to join even more.

After graduating high school, I joined the United States Air Force in 1999. For five years, I served as an HR personnel in Florida at Hurlburt Field, an Air Force base about an hour east of Pensacola. In this role, I helped with internal recruiting and moved people from one job to another within the Air Force. I also helped relocate service members from base to base. After that, I was promoted to Staff Sergeant and relocated to a base in Virginia to work in the intelligence department as a training and development manager. I oversaw a team of 10 and ensured computer operations were running properly and maintained daily as we supported troops deployed following 9/11. Intelligence analysts were on the ground in places like Iraq and Afghanistan—it was my team’s responsibility to ensure their audio, visuals and computers operated properly so they could accomplish their missions. While serving, I also earned a Bachelor of Science in Adult Education Training and Development from Southern Illinois University.

After more than nine years in the Air Force, I made the decision to leave the military and join corporate America.

It didn’t take long to find my way to bp. When I first joined the company on the Talent Acquisition team, my colleagues and supervisors were very encouraging and supported me as I learned to navigate a completely new-to-me industry. While the military gave me lots of experience with technical terms and acronyms, I needed to learn the meaning of energy-specific terminology like upstream and downstream. Thankfully, I was surrounded by people who took the time to teach me the terminology and processes I needed to know in order to be successful. I also spent time doing my own research to better understand the bigger picture of the role bp plays in delivering energy products and services to people around the world.

While I certainly had to learn a lot of new things, I was surprised to discover how much knowledge from my college and military experiences was immediately applicable in my new role at bp. Through my own hard work and with the support of my bp colleagues and mentors, I was quickly able to connect the dots on how my previous college and military experience was applicable to my new role in the energy sector, which gave me the confidence I needed in order to be successful.

I personally feel veterans owe it to themselves to dedicate time to learn corporate and industry terminology, as well as understand and effectively communicate how their military background correlates to today’s workplace. In fact, I felt passionate enough about it that I founded my own consulting firm, Vet Prep, which helps veterans transition, integrate and contribute to the American workforce.

At one point or another, I think most veterans struggle with the challenge of transitioning from the military and understanding the value that we bring to the corporate environment. Plus, it’s challenging to articulate how your skills translate to an office environment and how you can bring value to the organization.

Making an impact for veterans

A highlight of my career at bp and the achievement I’m proudest of is helping lead the company’s Military Placement Program. In this role, I’ve helped veterans transitioning from the military find a way to utilize bp as an introduction to the energy industry and a steppingstone to their future. The Military Placement Program is a 12-month internship for veterans working in bp’s Supply and Trading business. bp offers this program in our Houston, Chicago and London offices, and many program participants have gone on to have successful, meaningful careers with bp.

My path to my current role in the energy industry may not be traditional, but I wouldn’t change my experience for anything in the world. Through my time with the Air Force and in my past and current roles at bp, I was able to discover what I’m truly passionate about: equipping people with what they need to succeed. In the military, it was a functioning communications system enabling troops to complete their mission. At bp, it is the resources and support employees need to find a role that makes them excited to come to work every day. Being the one to make these connections happen is something I’m grateful I get to call my career.