Behind the Scenes: How TPS Helps Our Members Succeed
Nichole Richardson is a fairly new military spouse. Married to her husband for 2.5 years, she’s spent her military spouse career thrown into some of the toughest terrain there is….overseas assignments.
Overseas Assignments are coveted. Everyone wants them, and often times many of us go our entire military careers never stationed overseas. For Nichole and her husband, overseas living is second nature to them by now. They spent their first assignment as a married couple in Korea followed by Japan, where they are currently stationed. And, while being in a foreign country often affords the beautiful benefits of exploring new cultures, food, and history, for military spouses, it can also be a scary time being so far from our support systems.
Support doesn’t just come in the areas of baby and dog sitters at the ready, which is definitely a necessity for Nichole with the sweetest Havanese mix puppy named KenKen. But, support systems are also incredibly important for military spouses unapologetically focused on their careers like Nichole and all the spouses in TPS.
Nichole joined TPS because she was drawn to the networking TPS affords military spouses who like Nichole are career minded. What Nichole didn’t realize was all the amazing things that would come from joining TPS.
“I have really had so many great things come out of being a TPS member.”
Nichole received a scholarship to study digital marketing through GreenFig. She also connected with another Japanese based military spouse and TPS member, Spencer Nickless, who not only became a great friend but also helped Nichole find a job!
This connection through TPS has grown and expanded Nichole’s career opportunities by leaps and bounds. TPS opened Nichole up to a marketing career that she never even considered before. Nichole’s original background is in sales and customer service, where she holds a graduate degree from University of Oklahoma. But now, she’s hitting the ground running with a new job and new focus.
The lesson I learn from Nichole? Never stop growing, learning, and connecting with people. It’s always easy to get to a new place and feel on the “outside.” But, with the connections she made with people in the TPS community, Nichole was able to leverage her new-found talents and friend into a worthwhile career path! I always sound like a broken record when people ask me what I love about being a military spouse, but Nichole agrees….the community!
“Being a military spouse has pushed me out of my comfort zone more than I could ever imagine, but in doing so I have made friends with wonderful people all over the world and have also been pushed to try new experience.”
So, Nichole and I encourage you, step outside your comfort zone, today, and come join us! We promise, you’ll walk away with friends for life and a network of people pulling for you to have the career of your dreams!
