Her Story
About Rachel
I've been serving in the Air Force for about 6 years, a path I was drawn to after growing up in a military community surrounded by mentors and family members who inspired my interest in aviation. My typical day involves balancing the demands of being both a mom and military service member. I just finished active duty and am transitioning to the reserves. On flying days, I pilot remote aircraft on missions that can range from 1 to 5 hours, supporting various customers both within the U.S. and internationally. Beyond flying, I serve as executive support to a squadron commander who oversees more than 200 people in our organization. This role involves extensive document and workflow review, organizing meetings and team events, and routing critical documents to and from higher-level leadership. I act as a liaison between the commander and our unit, interface with base entities on and off our installation, and carefully review performance reports and regulation documents to ensure they're properly worded and formatted before they reach leadership. The work requires strong networking skills and the ability to communicate effectively with people from diverse backgrounds and experiences. At home, I'm raising a toddler and expecting my second child, which keeps me on my toes. I prioritize family time on weekends and make sure to fit in physical fitness and healthy living, maintaining the discipline and balance that's so important to me both professionally and personally.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Rachel
01What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges I've found is taking a step back and realizing people interpret things different ways, and having the ability to explain information maybe in a different way, or present it in a different manner, so that it's received more effectively. It might take a couple tries working with different teams or different sections of the unit to make sure things are accomplished with different workflows or performance reports. Those people skills are something I've really been able to sharpen, but it still remains a challenge because everyone comes from a different background and experience. It's a good way to humble myself in that I can take information one way and someone might not take it that way, but also a cool way to collaborate and find a different way to communicate that maybe I didn't think of before. Of course, there's only so many hours in the day, so fitting everything in is another challenge.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Dedication is crucial to me, seeing projects and jobs through to their entirety. Remaining humble and having empathy are values I hold dear. A team work ethic has been a big part of my jobs over the years. You don't realize how important a team is until you're faced with a completely new challenge or task that no one has seen before, and you all come together and figure it out. It's crucial to have that network and understanding that people bring all different values and experience. Discipline is a key one, whether it's military or my own life. Having a good balance of work and life and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important to my family, so having that dedication to do a good job at work, but also making sure we take care of ourselves with our physical fitness, and staying active, and eating healthy, making sure we maintain that as well.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.