How I Added a New Role to My Already Full Military Mom Life

Originally published May 3, 2023 on FENews.com

There are so many times as a mom when I feel like I am all things at once. I’m a mom of an active boy, an explorer, a guardian to my sibling, a nature-lover, a military wife, a friend, a reader, and so many other things. Like all moms, these many parts of my life are with me all the time. So when I was ready for a new challenge, I wanted to find a way to make who I already was fit with the new thing I wanted to be – a student.

At first, I didn’t plan on going back to school. I met my husband in our rural Nebraska hometown when I was a senior in high school. He was in the U.S. Air Force, back home “on RAP,” between finishing basic training and being stationed at his first base. After we were married I was excited to start our new life together. The first place we were stationed was in Tucson, Arizona. Back then, learning what it meant to be a military wife took up most of my time. From memorizing all the ranks to the quirks of base life, my first few months were a whirlwind. In 2017, my son was born and a few years after that we moved to O’ahu, Hawai’i.

We had a full house and full lives. We spent a lot of our time exploring all the great things about Hawai’i. But as my son turned three a lot of people started encouraging me to put him in school. He was already in speech therapy and I thought this could be a great chance for him to experience other new things. But I also wondered what I would do with the spare time.

As I talked to some friends and other military moms, they suggested going back to school. What made that idea even better was learning that grants were available for my education through MyCAA, which is a program specifically for military spouses. When I talked to the rep at MyCAA, she asked me about my goals and I said that eventually I wanted to get a job that would let me be home with my son. That’s when I got the idea of working in home healthcare.

This idea came to me because during my high school years I worked in an assisted living facility. I loved getting to know the residents and hearing their stories. I spent nearly every evening there and sometimes weekends too! My best friend was a 100-year-old woman. As I thought further about my education, I realized that this could be my chance to make a career out of helping others. That’s why I signed up for a patient care technician program at MedCerts. The online program was a perfect fit for my life because it let me keep being all of the different versions of myself while also adding something new!

After my program, I started working at a home health company as a patient care technician. Each day I get to help people of all ages. It’s been a great way to stay busy while my son and my sibling are in school. I’m so happy that on top of all the things that I already am, I can add a new label: a certified healthcare worker!

By Kassia Fielder, patient care technician for a home health company and lives in O’ahu Hawai’i.