Photo By Chief Petty Officer Diana Quinlan | 220322-N-WF272-1007 HANOVER, Md. (March 22, 2022) U.S. Navy Electrician's Mate 1st...... read more read more
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PHILADELPHIA – Back dropped by the Guyana rainforest, a young boy named Sherwin would run and play with friends and not worry about the world beyond his own. He’d never dreamt of driving a car or traveling abroad, but a future awaited him in a foreign land with a military that held technical marvels only a little boy could pretend to understand.
Electrician's Mate 1st Class Sherwin Thomas, assigned to Navy Talent Acquisition Group (NTAG) Philadelphia, born and raised in Georgetown, Guyana, was 19 when he immigrated with his family to the small neighborhood of Jamaica, New York. He was interested in attending college just as many young adults do, but minor setbacks changed his life and set his course to cross paths with the U.S. Navy.
There were some hurdles along the way. Thomas was a foreign national with a fresh green card and a low score at the entrance exam, but with the innate capacity for learning, Thomas overcame the setbacks, setting himself up for a successful career. He yearned for knowledge, no matter how big or small the subject, studying every free minute of his time. This allowed Thomas to achieve many goals, including obtaining his citizenship, which in turn opened a potential to move from the enlisted ranks to officer.
“While in boot camp, recruits are busy with training, studying and physical fitness, but I used every opportunity, every free minute to study for the citizenship exam,” Thomas said. “And it paid off. Shortly after graduating, I was taking the oath to the country that welcomed me. It was a great ceremony, with several other Sailors from various countries receiving their citizenship as well. I wouldn’t be a citizen today if I didn’t join, and I wouldn’t be here today, seven years later working to become a Chief or an LDO [Limited Duty Officer] if it wasn't for the Navy and the training it provides.”
Always striving to better himself, Thomas chose recruiting initially to improve his public speaking, boost his confidence and better understand what motivates people. Now working in recruiting as part of the e-talent team, Thomas has overcome the shyness that kept him from expressing himself and sharing his wealth of knowledge.
Today, he uses his experiences as an example with potential applicants, showing them the importance of seizing the chance to absorb any and all training that the Navy provides. At every opportunity, he shows future Sailors what the Navy has to offer: a stable career, ubiquitous chances to help others and the constant encouragement to grow as a person and a citizen.
“The Navy definitely made me stable in life. I've been here [U.S.] for nine years, and in the Navy for seven years, and I often compare where a lot of my friends or family members are,” Thomas elaborated. “It may sound silly, but owning and driving a car still is unbelievable to me. In my family, my mom and grandma never had a car. Owning my vehicle and having my own apartment—things others may take for granted—are so gratifying. It’s also given me the freedom to be able to help my mom, my family and friends, but also to be free to do something new; to explore, be independent, and even to use it as a stepping stone to furthering my education, to achieve my associate degree, and be just a year away from getting my bachelor's.”
In return, Thomas gets the gratification of seeing how eager people are to join and how happy and proud their families are of them as these Sailors graduate boot camp and “A” school, striving to achieve their dreams.
“Out of high school, sometimes we don't know where we want to go next in life,” Thomas explained. “And the Navy gives these future Sailors the chance to build themselves, to see the whole picture. For me, hearing these new Sailors’ stories, seeing them achieve great things, or make rank fast, sometimes even before you do - this is the best part of our job - to know how happy our future Sailors are to do something else in life, and go on to do great things.”
His dedication to the Navy and the mission truly shows. His recognition from his command, an impressive array of awards, the multitude of decorations, and most recently being NTAG Philadelphia’s Sailor of the Year, are testaments to his hard work. Yet Thomas does not intend to settle, or slack off. Now he leads Sailors to be the best they can be and to always learn more and share their knowledge.
“I always see the bright side of everything in life and I care about people. I care more about people than I do of myself,” Thomas shared. “This is also one of the reasons why I'm excited to go back to sea, because I want to show the new EM’s [Electrician's Mates], some of whom may have been recruited by us, and other dedicated recruiters across the country, that this job can be awesome when you apply themselves. I think caring for people, having a positive outlook, and being excited to do the job to the best of our ability is what makes our Navy so great, and the service so rewarding.”
Thomas is achieving what he believes is the American dream; just as past generations came to the United States in hopes of bettering themselves and their lives, Thomas rose from humble beginnings and now sets his sights on becoming a naval officer.
“Thanks to the Navy I’ve learned many trades and qualifications that I can easily apply in the civilian world,” Thomas said. “I have already visited more than 20 countries including a port visit to Israel. I saw Jesus’s tomb, and was baptized in the Jordan River. It still amazes me how much I have done, and still will be able to do versus being at home, and not knowing how great and vast this world really is.”
NTAG Philadelphia encompasses regions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia, providing recruiting services from more than 30 talent acquisition sites.
Navy Recruiting Command consists of a command headquarters, two Navy Recruiting Regions and 26 Navy Talent Acquisition Groups that serve more than 1,000 recruiting stations across the world. Their combined goal is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of America’s Navy.
For more news from Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, go to http://www.cnrc.navy.mil. Follow Navy Recruiting on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MyNAVYHR), Twitter (@USNRecruiter) and Instagram (@USNRecruiter).
| Date Taken: | 04.22.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 04.22.2022 13:56 |
| Story ID: | 419074 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 300 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Self-Growth Is Infectious: A Navy Recruiter’s Lesson in Always Pursuing Education., by CPO Diana Quinlan, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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