Photo By Amy Perry | Command Sgt. Maj. Vickie Culp, regimental command sergeant major of the Transportation...... read more read more
FORT LEE, Va. (March 30,2017) -- Recognizing this year’s National Women’s History Month theme of “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business,” the 23rd Quartermaster Brigade presented a Women’s Leadership Symposium March 22 at the Army Women’s Museum.
The event included Transportation Corps Regimental Command Sgt. Maj. Vickie G. Culp as the keynote speaker; Virginia General Assembly Delegate Lashrecse Aird as a guest speaker; a special video message from Lt. Gen. Gwen Bingham, assistant chief of staff, Installation Management: and a panel discussion on women leaders that featured several women from Fort Lee and the local community.
During her remarks, Culp told a story about a young woman who received a scholarship to attend college but instead joined the Army at 17.
“She grew up in a middle-class family and had everything a child could want,” said Culp. “She was bullied in school because of her small frame, and molested by a family member but never told anyone. She faced and still has body image issues. She just wanted to join the Army to get away from everything and everyone.”
This Soldier failed her final fitness test while in advanced individual training, but her first sergeant helped her pass, said Culp. The Soldier vowed to never be in that situation again. At her first duty station, she was told she was overweight, but with the help of some NCOs, she got off the program, and again, she vowed not to ever be in that situation again. She also married at a young age, but it, too, ended in despair as the couple divorced after three years due to her being too focused on her Army career.
The Soldier dealt with discrimination because she was a female, said Culp, but it didn’t deter her. She was diagnosed with epilepsy stemming from a fall off of a guard tower. Soon, she began to have episodes any time she was stressed or conducting strenuous physical training. After being threatened with a medical board if she didn’t get her health in order, she had another light bulb moment and made major adjustments to her life.
Her personal situation wasn’t much better. She had multiple miscarriages and another relationship failure.
“She honestly felt like she was not able to be a mother or wife,” said Culp. “She brushed it off and just chalked it up as it wasn’t meant to be. Her career was more important because she had control and men could come and go.
“Her career was taking off in so many ways that she never felt she needed to work on her personal life,” she continued. “It didn’t matter because she was happy doing what she loved – taking care of Soldiers.”
After an emotional event struck her unit, Culp noted it was hard for the Soldier to handle it, but she did and bottled up her feelings. Her career continued to progress, but her personal life still suffered. A friend convinced her to get help and to see a behavioral health specialist.
“After many sessions, she broke down and told her story,” said Culp. “Every day is a challenge, and she’s still learning how to balance her personal and professional life. Every day is a challenge to rise and face the day, but she does it because others depend on her. Her personal life matters more because she finally realized there is more to life than the Army, and she’s truly ready to be a wife.”
The Soldier was tired and broken down several times in her journey, said Culp. But her actions showed she could rise above it and do more than before.
“She rises up every day knowing the challenges she will face,” said Culp. “That Soldier is here today, and I know her as Command Sgt. Maj. Culp. I want you to know her as Vickie. This is my story, and it is the hardest thing I have ever done.”
Culp said she wanted to share the story because it is a familiar one to many others.
“It’s hard for us to tell our story because we think we would be viewed as weak,” she said. “It’s lonely at the top. Every day, you’re expected to be better than the day before. Everyone has high expectations, and you struggle every day trying to meet those expectations. You don’t want to fail. We all may fall, but it’s how you rise up that makes us better.”
After Culp’s speech moved many in the audience to tears, Aird, who serves as the delegate for the 63rd district, empowered them. She said she is driven to give back to a community and feels like Petersburg is a place she can see the difference.
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to go into politics,” she said. “I asked myself ‘how can I find a way to give back?’ And politics was the way that presented itself.”
She served in grassroots efforts on campaigns and volunteered wherever she could. She became a legislative aide. One day, the delegate she worked for decided to run for Senate and Aird was encouraged to run for the open seat. She ended up winning and became the youngest woman elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.
She said it can be challenging to be a woman leader in politics. She shared a story about a recent meeting where the group – led by a senior female delegate – was discussing a male politician in local government who had displayed some dubious values. After Aird stated that she thought they shouldn’t support him because his behavior wasn’t likely to change, the female leader accused her of being concerned he would run against her in the future and that she should be worried because he was a male and could speak well.
“I don’t worry about other men or women when it comes to an election,” Aird said. “I stand on my own, and people will see that I’m about what I say because of what I do and how I represent myself, or I’m not. It has nothing to do with someone being a man.
“Some might say I’m naïve, but I would say that I’ve been in situations where I’m the youngest person or the only black woman in the room,” she continued,” but guess what? If you know what you are talking about when you open your mouth to speak, that does not deter you from standing and being a leader.”
Women face many day-to-day challenges, but there’s no need to focus on them and feel discouraged, said Aird. She expressed gratitude to the many women along the way who helped encourage her.
“But I’m sure we have all dealt with that woman who is not supportive; the woman who is worried about you taking her place, and she wants to make sure you’re limited to what they want to expose you to,” she said. “Let’s not be that woman. When you’re the woman who is welcoming or the woman who shows them the path to leadership, we are that much greater together. There’s enough room for all of us.”
| Date Taken: | 03.30.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.30.2017 09:15 |
| Story ID: | 228580 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 40 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Leaders empower women at leadership symposium, by Amy Perry, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
