In honor of our upcoming tenth anniversary, Hiring Our Heroes is sharing 10 stories of veterans who have successfully transitioned from their military jobs to civilian employment through the connections they made through HOH programs or events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These diverse stories illustrate the variety of opportunities available to veterans thanks to creative workforce initiatives designed to help service members and their families maneuver into professional careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In one story, a last-minute decision to attend a Career Summit helped an Air Force veteran discover his dream job. In another story, a Marine commander learned of a fellowship program that changed her life from those she supervised. Finally, a professional truck driver and Army veteran plans to own his own fleet one day, thanks to a HOH recognition program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are 10 stories of success and one bonus story to illustrate the impact that Hiring Our Heroes is making in veterans\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Holly Harris is a bit of a chameleon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During her Army career, this self-proclaimed lifelong learner started out as a Korean linguist before becoming an Apache helicopter pilot. She worked at the White House in the Office of Management and Budget as a budget analyst, and at one point, was a Department of the Army Strategist. In her final military job, she served as a policy analyst working in cybersecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2016, Holly became one of the first to participate in the Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program<\/a> in northern Virginia. Her fellowship was in operations at Amazon Fresh, but she found her passion in a different field. After speaking with senior recruiters at Amazon during her fellowship, Holly knew she wanted to work in recruiting. She didn\u2019t have experience in the recruiting field, but that didn\u2019t stop her from doing the research and eventually applying to be a recruiting sourcer for Amazon Web Services (AWS). After her fellowship, she got the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Holly\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end there. The fellowship allowed Holly to get her foot in the door and continue to learn and grow in fields she had interests in; today, Holly works as a senior program manager at AWS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWithout the Hiring Our Heroes fellowship program, it would have taken me longer to get to a place of confidence in my post-military career and to where I am today,\u201d Holly said. \u201cWith the fellowship I grew the courage to try a new career \u2013 one where I thrive and have the opportunity to stay connected with Veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jay Junkins\u2019 wife wanted to return to Wisconsin once he retired from the Air Force. But there was just one problem \u2013 Jay\u2019s final duty station was Ramstein Air Base in Germany, more than 4,000 miles away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On a whim,\u00a0this\u00a0aviator and air logistics officer\u00a0went to\u00a0a\u00a0Career Summit at\u00a0Kaiserslautern<\/a>,\u00a0a nearby Army base. His\u00a0hopes\u00a0of connecting with\u00a0prospective employment\u00a0opportunities\u00a0were low\u00a0until the summit\u00a0emcee\u00a0opened with this statement, \u201cRaise your hand if you want to move to\u00a0Oshkosh, Wisconsin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was the only one to raise my hand,\u201d Jay said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the summit, Jay learned about a job in procurement and supply chain at Pierce Manufacturing. A custom fire and rescue vehicles manufacturer headquartered in Wisconsin whose mission is to build the best vehicle for those who risk their lives daily to protect our nation, a mission familiar to anyone in the military. After flying halfway around the world for an in-person interview, Jay was offered his dream job \u2013 a job he wouldn\u2019t have known existed if it wasn\u2019t for Hiring Our Heroes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHiring Our Heroes was the key to connecting me with Oshkosh,\u201d Jay said. Pierce Manufacturing is a subsidiary of Oshkosh Corporation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After serving in the military for 24 years, Joseph Campbell is enjoying his next career \u2013 working as a professional truck driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joseph was named the 2019 Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence award winner<\/a> and handed the keys to a fully-loaded Kenworth T680 truck and the opportunity to be an owner-operator. Transition Trucking was launched by Hiring Our Heroes, Kenworth, and FASTPORT in 2016 as part of an overall effort to inspire veterans to seek employment opportunities in the trucking industry. America\u2019s trucking industry has long been supportive of our nation\u2019s military families, and several major carriers boast a driving population comprised of more than 30 percent veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since becoming the 2019 Transition Trucking winner, Joseph has set up his LLC and created his business plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI set my goals according to the worth of my business and I have a number in mind that I\u2019m working to reach,\u201d he said. \u201cWith this truck, I can truly shoot for the stars.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read about the 2020 Transition Trucking winner here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As a Marine Corps officer, Kathrine Lukes approved requests from active duty service members under her command to participate in the Corporate Fellowship Program during their final 180 days in the military. So, when the time came for her military transition, Kathrine knew exactly what direction she would go for her transition and applied for a similar opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With zero experience in the renewable energy industry, Kathrine applied for the Solar Ready Vets Fellowship<\/a>. This program supports the transition and hiring of active duty service members and veterans into the solar industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kathrine enjoyed her fellowship and liked the people that she worked with at Icarus RT, her host company. In June of 2020 she graduated from the program. Now, Kathrine works as an operations manager with Icarus RT in San Diego.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for this fellowship, I would still be looking for a job,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jon Cox continues to make connections at Hiring Our Heroes events nearly three years after his military transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This retired Navy Master Chief\u00a0received a job offer\u00a0as a result of the connections he made at\u00a0the\u00a0Minneapolis-St. Paul Hiring Expo<\/a>\u00a0with the Minnesota Wild hockey team.\u00a0The\u00a0event was\u00a0one in\u00a0a series of hiring expos held at\u00a0professional sports arena concourses\u00a0through partnerships with the National Hockey League (NHL), National Basketball Association (NBA), and Major League Baseball (MLB).\u00a0An average of\u00a04,000 job seekers annually connect\u00a0with military-ready employers\u00a0at\u00a0HOH\u00a0expos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jon became the military recruiting specialist responsible for finding and placing veterans in more than 200 stores and corporate positions at Hy-Vee, a regional grocery store chain. He placed 1,200 veterans in 2019 and 1,110 in 2018. Through his efforts, Hy-Vee now hosts fellows from the Corporate Fellowship Program. Before Jon, Hy-Vee hired between 10 and 15 veterans annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently, Jon was promoted to director of recruiting. He\u2019s looking forward to attending in-person hiring events again in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHiring Our Heroes events attract better candidates and I have hired more veterans from those events than any other,\u201d he said. \u201cHiring Our Heroes is a veteran organization that actually cares about the veteran. I will always attend every Hiring Our Heroes event that I can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Eric Putt heard that Hiring Our Heroes was offering the Corporate Fellowship Program to transitioning service members at Fort Hood, he was determined to be a fellow. Part of his determination stemmed from an unexpected timeline shift for his transition out of the military. The Army scheduled his transition to be earlier than he requested, so he was feeling anxious about finding employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Six interviews later, as part of the Corporate Fellowship Program\u2019s placement process, Putt matched with his host company, Workforce Solutions of Central Texas. On week eight of the 12-week fellowship, he was offered full-time employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe value is those 12 weeks where you can focus on you and your next career,\u201d Putt said. \u201cYou have the time to show off your soft skills and do your very best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently, Putt transitioned into a new role \u2013 Hiring Our Heroes\u2019 program manager for the CFP at Fort Hood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis job has been my dream job for a long time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hiring Our Heroes\u00a0kicked off 2020 by presenting a Toyota RAV4 to\u00a0Kashona\u00a0Oakman<\/a>, who served in the South Carolina Army National Guard for 23 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI would like to thank this great organization, Hiring Our Heroes, for everything that they do for veterans,\u201d she said at the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\nJay Junkins, Air Force Veteran, Career Summit, 2019<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Joseph Campbell, Marine Corps and Army Veteran, Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence Award, 2019<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Kathrine Lukes, Marine Corps Veteran, Solar Ready Vets Fellowship, 2020<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Jon Cox, Navy Veteran, Sports Expo, 2017<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Eric Putt, Army Veteran, Corporate Fellowship Program, 2015<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Kashona Oakman, South Carolina Army National Guard Veteran, Hiring Our Heroes \u201cCommitted to America\u2019s Heroes Sweepstakes,\u201d 2020<\/h4>\n\n\n\n