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Announcer: Welcome to Mondays with Maria, presented by ADDITION Financial Credit Union. Here's OCPS, superintendent, Dr. Maria Vazquez.
Maria Vazquez: Hi, everyone. Today is Veterans Day. We honor all United States veterans, their patriotism, the love of country, and their service and sacrifice. I couldn't let this day go by without recognizing a few of our own veterans who work for Orange County Public Schools. So, welcome Kalida Johnson, a teacher, a fourth-grade teacher at Metro West Elementary School.
Kalida Johnson: Thank you for having me.
Maria Vazquez: Mary Hamilton, a registered nurse at Evans High School, and Amber Price, a kindergarten teacher at Rock Springs Elementary. Welcome. Thank you for being here. Thank you.
Mary Hamilton and Amber Price: Thank you for having us.
Kalida Johnson: It's a pleasure.
Maria Vazquez: And what I would like to ask, if you don't mind, is for each of you to just take a couple of minutes and talk to us about your career in the military.
Kalida Johnson: Okay. So I'm an Army veteran. It was amazing. I learned a lot. And the skills that I learned, I still utilize them in everyday life. And on the job they taught me how to be a leader. And now I'm a teacher leader in Orange County <laugh>.
Maria Vazquez: Wonderful.
Mary Hamilton: I was an army medic and then I went on to become an army nurse in ne neonatal intensive care. And then left the military, worked for a while, and then eventually got to Orlando <laugh>.
Maria Vazquez: Oh, great.
Amber Price: I was a corporal in the Marine Corps. I did four years. I'm a product of OCPS, so I had to come home to Apopka after everything was, after my service time was over.
Maria Vazquez: Right. So we've got Army Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> Army and Marines. Oh my goodness. Wow. <laugh>. So one of my favorite things is graduations. Right. I love that time of year. We have our students that are walking across the stage and every year I see the students who have made a choice to serve our country. And so I would love if you would share maybe some piece of advice to our students who maybe are thinking about it, but are hesitant. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> or maybe somebody who has already Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> made that decision. What words of wisdom do you have for them? Who wants to start?
Kalida Johnson: I would tell them, think about the benefits that last a lifetime. If they're considering college, they could go in, become a second lieutenant, and then college would be paid for. So that would be a benefit.
Maria Vazquez: That’s a huge benefit, right? Because especially now that college is not as affordable. Knowing that that is available to them is, is great advice.
Mary Hamilton: Another option of an education is going to one of the service academies that is completely paid for, for the student with their commitment to serve as an army officer when they graduate. And the other thing, if you're, if you're enlisting in the Army and you're worried about it, you're worried about the physical aspects the Army knows how to train people to meet the physical challenges. So, don't let that hinder you from going into the service.
Maria Vazquez: Well, I'm glad you mentioned that because I can tell you that that was definitely a deterrent for me that, oh, I could not do those obstacle courses. I couldn't run. So, it's great to hear that they kind of take you where you are and they train you up, right? Yes. Good, good. Definitely. Alright. Do you have any words of wisdom?
Amber Price: I would say, especially for those students, if they're unsure what their future is going to look like, find a skill that you would like to learn about. Let the military teach you that skill. If nothing else in your four years, you learn a great skill that you can take with you forever.
Maria Vazquez: Okay, great. Great advice. Okay. So, I'm going to ask one more question Right. And I'll give you a little chance to think about it. But so, you were all in the military. And then you made a choice to join the OCPS family. So how did you come about coming to OCPS?
Kalida Johnson: So, I'm originally from St. Lucie County. I served as an educator for about 24 years in St. Lucie County. And then in 2017, I came here for training and I decided that I wanted to be an educator in Orange County. And so I've been here for seven years. So now I am 31 years as an educator.
Maria Vazquez: Okay. So you, I'm sorry for St. Lucie, but we are very happy for Orange County Public Schools. I'm very happy you made that choice.
Kalida Johnson: Thank you.
Mary Hamilton: Well, my husband is from Brevard County, so when our children graduated, we moved to the city, Orlando. And that's how I came to Orlando. I applied for a position at OCPS.
Maria Vazquez: Wow. Okay. Amber,
Amber Price: I'm at Apopka High alum.
Maria Vazquez: Oh my goodness. So you're a blue daughter, blue daughter all away. Wow. Wow.
Amber Price: Okay. So when my husband was medically retired, I had followed him for 12 years, and he was finally, he was like, okay, you choose, where are we going? And I said, I need to go home. Oh. And that brought me back to Apopka.
Maria Vazquez: Aw. Oh my gosh. That's awesome. Well, I, I, I cannot thank you enough, not just for your service to our country, but the fact that you have also chosen to serve our students here in OCPS in varying capacities and such incredible role models for our students, our young women, to be able to see three, the three of you that served our country. What an honor. So, thank you for your service to our country and to OCPS.
Kalida Johnson, Mary Hamilton, & Amber Price: Thank, thank you. Thanks for having us.
Maria Vazquez: Thank you all for watching. Don't forget to like, follow and subscribe. We will have more of our conversation on our podcast. Just go to wherever you get your podcast and search for Mondays with Maria, I will see you next week. Take care.
Announcer: For an extended conversation on today's topic. Listen to the Mondays with Maria podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. Mondays with Maria is presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Count us in for every step of your financial journey. Learn more at Additionfi.com. For more OCPs news and information, visit TheSlice.ocps.net. I'm your announcer. Kaleb Priester, a senior at Jones High School. Thanks for watching and have a great week.