Cynthia Cole

I served 20 years of duty in the Navy, starting as a personnelman for my first 12 years where I worked with reservists who came in once a month for training. I made sure their service records were completed so their families could access resources when needed. My final 8 years I worked as a paralegal, first stationed in Yokosuka, Japan for 3 years where I served as a mediator for the entire Pacific area and worked as a clerk and transcriber in trials. Captains and supervisors would call me to determine maximum punishments for sailors. When I returned to the United States, I was stationed at Mayport for 3 years where I worked as both a prosecuting and defense counselor, which was definitely an experience doing both sides. I was selected as Sailor of the Year because I was handling everybody from E1 to E8, even taking over my senior chief's responsibilities when she left. My last two years I was clerk of court at NAS Jacksonville, where I took over the chief's job when he was kicked out, handling reservations, hotels, transcribing for court, getting courts ready for trial, and managing trips for a Marine captain and a Navy captain. After leaving the Navy, I worked for 3 years as a science teacher in Fort Pierce, Florida. I earned my PhD in Organizational Psychology, which I love because organizations are like families and we spend more than 8 hours there. I also have three master's degrees - my first in human relations that I received while in Japan, an MBA with emphasis in finance and human resources, and a master's in clinical counseling and mental health. Now I'm retired and spend my time working with family, doing life coaching, and advising different organizations.