Leslie Caleb

Share your military spouse story:
I moved to the US in 2013 and I was welcomed at Fort Bragg, NC as an 82nd Airborne newlywed. I had no real military life experience, but I immediately felt the need to be part of my new community. As a military wife, I have learned that we often have to reinvent ourselves to support our service members and families, which at times can be rewarding and others challenging or even discouraging. Despite all, in the past seven years, I personally and professionally grew and gained the experience necessary to take my career to the next level. I had the opportunity to be surrounded by amazing and inspiring strong individuals that supported me in my journey. The more I learned about the challenges, as well as the opportunities behind the scene of the military life, the more I wanted to share my knowledge with other people who were going through similar experiences and situations. I made it my mission to support my fellow military spouse, by giving my complete support leveraging my knowledge as well as by connecting them to the various resources available to our specific community. In the journey of self-discovery, I was able to build a portfolio of skills that helped me adjust to a new culture. Diversity soon became my reality and I strived for a sense of inclusion and belonging. I started my military spouse journey by completing my education in the US, rewarded by several scholarships, including the Fort Myer Thrift Shop scholarship and the ThanksUSA Associate to Bachelor scholarship at Purdue University Global. These opportunities gave me the chance to learn that despite setbacks, perseverance and self-confidence are the keys to a purposeful success. Showing up every day no matter what can lead to great achievements and I want to share this with my community

Share an example of your leadership experience within the military community:
As a leader in my field of expertise I am a true believer in building connections, minimalist planning, and purposely design a framework for the future ahead (classic short and long-term goals setting) with a servant leader mindset. I was able to share my knowledge in this topic with an extensive presentation during cohort 10 at Dog Tag Fellowship in Spring 2019 This initial steps can help spouses and veterans create a vision for their family and ignite a continuous purpose in life. Every family is comparable to small business and the members of the military community across the world are the leader of it. Once we build a solid foundation and a well-fortified structure with a servant's heart, life will move forward organically and harmoniously

Describe your involvement in the military community:
I am engaged in supporting transitioning service members, veteran and military spouses to connect with the civilian world. I have dedicated thousands of hours in volunteering to support my military community while gaining valuable skills, knowledge, and experience for organizations such as Army Community Service (Fort Myer, VA), Front Desk Support; Dog Tag Inc. (Georgetown, D.C), Fellow Recruitment and Community Outreach; National Military Family Association (Alexandria, VA), Volunteer Recruitment and Community Outreach; Blue Star Families (Virtual) | Macy’s Big Give Back Campaign Ambassador; Patriot Placements (Virtual), HR Assistant; American Red Cross (Washington D.C), Holidays Care Packages (with First Lady and Second Lady); InDependent.org (virtual), Community Ambassador and Program Development Consultant; ThanksUSA (McLean, VA), Scholarship Recipient and Advocate

Describe how you support your community:
As part of the American Corporate Partners (ACP) military spouse mentorship program, and strong advocate of self-development and personal growth I collaborated with my direct contact Julia Cirincione ACP Operation Associate to connect organizations such as Dog Tag Bakery Inc. Fellowship Program, ThanksUSA Scholarship Programs, and AUSA with the opportunity to provide military spouses with a career focus mentorship program.

What do you advocate for? Why?
I strongly advocate for the ThanksUSA Scholarship Program. I believe the mission of the organization is remarkable not only because was built by two young girls who were compelled to support the military community, after observing the struggle of their neighbor and his family post-deployment injury, but also because it gives hope and opens endless growth opportunities to military spouses and children. I advocate for supporting education and help avoid the burden of expensive student loans.

How have you spread the message of your platform/advocacy?
I have been a military spouse for 7 years and have volunteered in for organization, asked to create content and requested to speak on corporate events to represent the military spouses community on numerous occasions. More specifically I have been asked to participate in blog writing and speak at events for ThanksUSA to bring my testimony about the importance of education and higher education especially in our peculiar lifestyle. I was fortunate to collect several experiences such as participate as a guest to Good Morning Washington with Hall of Fame Football player Darrel Green and former ThanksUSA President Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Schmiegel to talk about my educational experience and how ThanksUSA and Pathways for Patriots have changed my life as a military spouse https://bit.ly/2NhttFi

What do you hope to accomplish with the AFI Military Spouse of the Year^® title?
To enhance the lives of other military spouses by becoming a catalyst that creates an inclusive network of trusted partners that will guide the growth and success of courageous and powerful women and men, who might have left behind a conventional life, to follow a mission of love and freedom. As a foreign spouse, I started my life from scratch while joining a new impactful lifestyle. The goal is to create a positive and solidary community that elevates the talent of many individuals and never gives up when challenges arise.