A Tale of Three Veterans.

When I think of Black History Month names such as August Wilson, Gordon Parks, Katherine Johnson, Ray Charles, Maya Angelou, Benjamin O Davis (Sr), Mohamed Ali and Jimi Hendrix are just some of the names that immediately come to my mind. Obviously there is a very long list of others as well but I chose to write about some less known heroes who I think are making history in their own little way.

So what kind of content is an Egyptian American going to come up with regarding Black History Month...hmmm...probably no awards for this piece but let's give it a shot.

In addition to our day jobs, my Co-Founder Bryan Mabry and I decided to set up a Non-Profit with the mission of transforming the lives of Veterans by teaching them the business of Talent Acquisition. After a couple of years of working in our free time on getting Bellator Recruiting Academy on it's feet we have been fortunate to have had some successes.

This is a quick tale about three African American Veterans, representing three branches of the Military all with ties to the great State of Georgia (known for its wisdom, moderation and justice.)

There was Cherie, a Navy Veteran with two kids and two, yes two Masters Degrees.

Then there was Justin, a Marine Corps Veteran and Law Enforcement Officer with an MBA based right outside of Atlanta.

Then there was Sasha, a Veteran of the Army National Guard and a contractor with the Counterintelligence Security Agency with a Masters in Public Administration.

Sasha's adventure was the most recent and over the last couple of months we have been having conference calls and setting up sessions with our board members and team members who volunteer their time to help Veterans like Sasha understand the ins and outs of Talent Acquisition. Calls sometimes as late as 9:00 and 10:00 pm on weeknights and weekends. Sasha was juggling all of this in between her multiple responsibilities. These included being a Military Intelligence Officer with the Army National Guard, a contractor with the Counterintelligence Agency, an Active Duty Spouse and a mother of two (including a five month old!!) Sasha has been working like crazy, preparing for interviews and studying and researching the business of Talent Acquisition while networking like the best of them. This past week we heard the incredible news that she will be joining Google's Talent Acquisition team.

Justin was a soft spoken Southern Gentleman who had spent five years serving his country in the Marine Corps followed by seven years of serving his community in Law Enforcement while obtaining his MBA and co-parenting his two young sons. How on earth would someone with that profile end up in Talent Acquisition you ask? Leave it to another Marine by the name of Brian Gomez who had seen the benefits of the world of Talent Acquisition and believed in Bellator Recruiting Academy and our mission and believed in Justin and knew he had the chops to succeed. One thing led to another and after about a dozen calls, Justin was on his way out to meet with Facebook for an interview in their Austin, Texas office to explore his candidacy for their Sourcer Development Program. Lo and behold, yes you guessed it, they loved him and he was selected. After a year in the program they loved him so much they selected him to become part of their full time team in Austin.

All of the Veterans in this tale had their own unique stories filled with challenges and adversity but Cherie's was the one that stood out most to me. Shortly after being put in touch with Cherie and after a few phone calls with her and her family, I was able to convince Cherie to take a shot at an opportunity to be part of our program. We had selected Cherie after extensive vetting to be part of a group of Veterans that we flew across the country to meet with a company by the name of Facebook. Facebook would then select a small percentage of those we flew out to participate in a one year fellowship where they would learn the ins and outs of Recruiting and Talent Acquisition while being immersed in one of the best Recruiting teams in the world. After a couple of weeks of anxiety, stress and uncertainty the final selections were made.

Lo and behold Cherie had been selected. It was amazing that she would have this opportunity to change her and her family's life. This meant taking a huge gamble and Cherie was willing to move out with her family across the country for an opportunity that had no certainty of guaranteed employment at the end of the one year program. The certainty that she did have was the fact that her marketability would be catapulted and that she would of had one year experience working for the company known for hiring some of the best technology talent in the world.

I then received the call...it was heartbreaking and unfathomable. Cherie's brother had been shot dead in California. Suddenly Cherie's life had been turned upside down and what seemed to of been an opportunity of a lifetime was now obviously the last thing that Cherie was concerned about. We agreed to put things on hold and let the storm calm.

It was a few days later that I received the call back from Cherie, her words were focused and her voice was determined, "He would want me to do it. I am going to do it for him," she said. Cherie had mustered up the strength amidst all of the chaos and had decided that she would go forward. She was going to participate in our program...

Fast forward to a couple of years later and Cherie has wrapped up her stint in the Silicon Valley. She is now back in Atlanta exploring her next long term project that she hopes will tap into everything she has learned about Talent Acquisition while tapping into her passion for Diversity Recruitment.

I continue to be inspired by all of the Veterans that I have been fortunate to have met especially those who have been able to navigate the greatest levels of adversity and I hope the above either inspires you in some way or warms your heart because these stories will warm mine for many years to come.