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BOSTON – Yeoman Seaman Mariah Bruce attached to Navy Recruiting District New England’s Admin department is our Sailor of the week.
Bruce grew up near the Blue Ridge Mountains in Roanoke, Va., graduating from the county’s Home of the Vikings, Northside High School. In 2016 she pursued a Criminal Justice undergraduate degree at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Va. While attending college, she discovered opportunities with the Navy, where she felt would further support and align her vision to a career in law.
“I wanted to come in as a legal clerk, but you can’t enlist directly to Lealman, so I am learning on the job while I continue my education,” said Bruce. “By the end of my first tour, I plan to submit an officer package to see if I can get picked up for the JAG program, and they pay for me to go to law school.”
On Dec 17, 2018, Bruce entered the Navy, a little hesitant of what her future would be. It was at her “A” school in Naval Technical Training Center in Meridian, Miss. where the luck of the draw found her orders reporting to New England’s fast-paced New England recruiting district. An experience she says has proven rewarding.
“Being here has made me grow stronger,” said Bruce. “I didn’t have a choice but to grow up and learn to be patient. It has increased my positive outlook for the future, and I am so eager to learn.”
Whether she is preparing files, providing administrative support, Bruce has found her current place in Admin, to be the heart of the recruiting.
“There is a lot of stuff that needs to get done for the whole recruiting process to go smooth, and Admin has a really big part in how the command functions,” said Bruce.
Bruce recently received NRD New England’s Support Sailor of the first quarter of 2020, where she gives credit to the friends, family, and people she has met in here Navy journey.
“Talking with the officers and mentors here, and seeing their success has given me the motivation to stay on track,” said Bruce. “I have defiantly gotten closer to God, and I try to keep a positive attitude and think of the long-term goals that I can reach to help me in the long run.”
Though life changes and the challenge that often follows, Bruce reflects on home and family for support.
“My mom is just the strongest woman I have ever meet,” said Bruce. She keeps me going and my biggest support, and she has been with me through everything in life.”
If you ask Bruce to describe herself, she will let you know.
I feel like you can’t meet just anyone like me,” said Bruce. “You can come close, but I am very strong witted, I don’t meet strangers because as a friendly and outgoing person, and I feel like a woman who can conquer anything.”
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