Profiles in Success: Stories

Kimberly Alonzo

Kimberly Alonzo

Drexel Hamilton

Military Experience

Kimberly, a Fordham vet, served in the Navy from 2003-2007. She was responsible for coordinating maintenance tasks and overseeing changes and modifications to the F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft. In addition, she coordinated squadron/activity maintenance reporting requirements and kept charts to show trends in aircraft system reliability and she maintained engine logbooks and other aircraft records.
“I developed three key values,” she said. “Resourcefulness: an ability to handle new and difficult situations skillfully and promptly. Perseverance: never quit, no matter what! As well as Altruism: especially in giving back to the Veteran community. In terms of skills, I learned to pay intense attention to detail. That enabled me to identify and prevent unfavorable situations, specifically when it involved safety. In fact, I’m called “Captain Safety” by my friends which is just fine with me!”

How Edge4vets Mentors Helped Me

“When I was first discharged, I put all of my responsibilities on the resume and listed only a few skills. Edge4Vets mentors helped me realize that I had tremendous skills, especially attention to detail. They taught me how that skill would allow me to sell myself for my commitment to safety. The Edge4Vets program gave me the confidence to step outside my comfort zone and promote my military values and skills with poise and confidence in an interview.”

How Kimberly Is Using Her Military Skills In Civilian Life

“I am pursing my career in financial services at Drexel Hamilton as an Assistant VP in the Municipal Finance Department. My military values serve as my moral compass. They shape how I think and how I react to everything in life. When I feel like giving up, the compass points towards perseverance! In the military, my shipmates counted on me to get the job done. I now call my shipmates “Co-Workers” and my compass points to resourcefulness and perseverance to exceed their expectations. Outside work I volunteer for many veterans activities, including serving as Mentor in Edge4Vets - thus I get to use my Altruism value to help other vets find their way as mentors helped me find my path to success.”

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Macy Garner

Macy Garner

Delta Airlines

At Edge4Vets I learned not to limit myself to one specific skill and as a result I was able to get a job with Delta.

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Marco Biongioanni

Marco Bongioanni

Dept. of Veterans Affairs

Edge4Vet’s mentors helped deepen my ‘rolodex’ from a networking standpoint.

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Anny Pena

Anny Pena

Standard Chartered Bank

Edge4Vets provided guidance to help me find good examples I could use in interviews and they shared what employers are looking for and why they want to hire veterans.

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Chrissy Burbach

Chrissy Burbach

United Nations Mission to the Congo

The mentors provided suggestions to help me to talk confidently about my achievements, and invaluable advice on how best to present myself in job interviews.

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Dawn Jolly

Dawn Jolly

Pfizer

Edge4Vets mentors helped me realize that my skills were highly transferable and that corporations such as Pfizer Inc. could benefit from my skills and experiences.

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Jesse Williams

Jesse Williams

1-800-Flowers

Edge4Vets gave me one-to-one interviewing practice which was invaluable. I learned how to understand how valuable my military experience could be to find a job.

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Joseph Gamez

Joseph Gamez

Metropolitan Transit Authority

Edge4Vets helped me to effectively write my resume with accomplishments that I had been overlooking but are real and are marketable.

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