I’m Dr. Kim Moore, Assistant Superintendent for Career and Innovative Programs and retired military officer. I am honored today to share my experiences in the military and how my military career led me to become an educator.

Before I share my journey, I want to honor our Veterans and their families for their service to our Nation. I especially want to thank our family members for their sacrifice and service because they create the conditions for service members to serve.

Each Veteran and family member deserves our gratitude and respect for their sacrifices to protect the principles upon which this country was founded.

I had the privilege to serve this Nation as an Army Officer, “Hooah!” For 20 years, one month, and a wake-up, I had the honor to lead soldiers and civilians in various positions and locations. My area of expertise was Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare, Weapons of Mass Destruction. That’s a mouthful, so we call it NBC or “Bugs and Gas.”

As a Chemical Corp Officer, my career caused my family to move 14 times, live in seven different states, and a foreign country. In addition, I traveled across the United States and numerous countries on temporary duty assignments.

While I loved my military career, it was not my first career choice. When I entered college, I wanted to be an FBI Agent. My major was Biology with a minor in Chemistry, so I wanted to be a forensic scientist. However, because I started college early, I was scheduled to graduate at the age of 20, and 23 was the requirement to become a special agent. Since I was in ROTC, the FBI recruiter encouraged me to serve in the military for three years and then apply for the FBI Academy, with veterans’ preference.

I have to be transparent and tell you why I joined ROTC, since joining the military was not on my radar. ROTC offered helicopter rides if you joined, and my father was helicopter crew chief, so I wanted to experience his work. I stayed for the semester because I was told it was an easy grade.

I was a terrible cadet in my freshman year. In fact, I was rated the worst cadet by my peers. However, after I moved past my ego and realized how ROTC could help me become an FBI agent and serve my country, I committed to improving. As a result, I was selected as the first female cadet commander in my senior year. I also won all of the leadership awards. So, I went from worst to first!

The day after my college graduation, I was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army and began my military career as a third-generation soldier. Yes, my father and grandfather had served in the Army. So we are a military family! My husband is a retired Marine, and one of our sons is serving our Nation today as a fourth-generation soldier.

So, I know you’re wondering why did I decide to make the military a career? Well, for two reasons. First, I found my calling. I loved leading soldiers! Leadership is a privilege, especially in the military, because you hold the lives of your soldiers in your hand. All of my decisions directly impacted the soldiers I led.

The military helped me find my voice as a leader. Throughout my career, I was often the only female officer on the staff. As a result, I understood I was a role model for other soldiers. My leadership training gave me the confidence and courage to leverage my rank and position at the table to advocate for all individuals.

Second, when you serve in the military, you serve in an organization whose purpose is larger than the individual. My work was not about me; it was about defending the idea of America. I put my uniform on every day to protect the freedoms of every citizen.