Robyn Grable: Empowering Veterans and Championing Second Chances | EP 47

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Well, thank you all for tuning
into the Carolina Business

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Leaders Podcast, where we share
the stories of local business

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leaders and impact makers who
are community focused and deeply

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rooted in the Carolinas.
Today's guest is Robin Grable,

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founder and President of the
Ascend Collective AUS Navy

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veteran and talent acquisition
expert dedicated to empowering

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veterans, women and underserved
communities through inclusive

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hiring strategies and career
transition programs.

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Robin, thank you so much for
joining us today.

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Thanks for having me, I'm
excited to.

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Be here and thank you for your
service.

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My honor, yes.
Absolutely.

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So as the founder of the Ascend
Collective, can you give us just

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a brief overview of what your
your company is and some of the

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problems you are trying to
solve?

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Yeah.
So our mission really is to

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create career pathways through a
skills first approach without a

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resume, without all the barriers
that people face.

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For veterans particularly,
that's where it started.

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But we've expanded it to
military spouses, diversely

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abled, justice impacted.
And it's really about helping

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people be seen for their skills
and not be judged on where they

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might have received those skills
or where they got those skills

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or earned them.
So or maybe they don't have a

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degree, they've gone the non
traditional path in their life.

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And so we want them to be
recognized because there's a lot

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of talent out there that people
are missing out on.

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Significant barrier to get
across.

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Sometimes, and we believe talent
is defined by potential, not

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where people have been.
So what potential do you bring

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to the table?
And especially for business

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owners, if they don't look at a
skills first approach, they're

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missing out on a lot of great
talent.

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Absolutely.
And you have been recognized as

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a woman of influence, a veteran
champion.

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So how do these honors reflect
your passion for second chance

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hiring and advocacy?
Yeah, so they're really great.

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I mean, personally, they were
deeply meaningful these, but

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they're they're title, they're
more than titles.

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They really reflect the purpose
of our our mission and what we

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do every day.
Being a champion, being a

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veteran advocate, being just
being that person, that voice

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for other people who don't feel
like that people are listening

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to them or see them.
So having that recognition is

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really, you know, it's, it's
meaningful in that way, but it's

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also, so it means that our work
isn't finished because that one

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that doesn't stop at just
getting that, you know, one

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award.
Yeah, we have to keep going and

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then do more to help the people
in their communities.

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And congratulations on this
morning.

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You're well.
Thank you.

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So I would imagine that the
transition from military to

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civilian life is extremely
difficult.

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Like, just for myself, like I
grew up, wanted to be like a

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college athlete, professional
athlete.

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That didn't work out.
And just like, OK, now I need to

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like, put my mindset of a job.
Yeah, that was difficult.

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Military, I believe it more so.
How was that experience for you?

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That's a long story that takes
us way, way back, but it is a

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difficult transition when you
think about it.

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The military spends a lot of
time and money to train people

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to be in the military, right?
And so they go through an

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intensive, you know, boot camp.
They're drilling things into

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your head to take orders to be
able to.

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And I never forget when I was in
basic training, I got chosen to

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become an assistant company
commander right out of boot

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camp.
So I went from being a recruit

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to training recruits.
And I told this one recruit,

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just just do what they tell you
to do.

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Just don't think about it.
Don't think.

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Yeah, because, you know, we've
got brains.

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We want to think, but don't
think.

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Just do what they're telling you
to do.

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So when you go through that
intensive training, and you have

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to because the military, it's
life and death, right?

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Every person in the military is
doing something related to

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national security, related to
saving lives, etcetera.

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And that's that's intensive.
When you think about it, when

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you get out and you take that
uniform off, you are no longer

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seen for you know how your
achievements were because

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they're right on your chest,
right what your rank is, because

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it's right on your sleeve.
Everybody knows how you advanced

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in the military.
They know what branch you're in

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right?
They know all of these that your

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name tags here.
They know your.

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Last name, it's gone.
It's gone.

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It's completely gone in the
military.

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I mean, they're great.
They're better now at

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transitioning than they were.
I didn't have any transition.

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I got out today.
They're better.

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Still not.
So they help with that process.

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They do.
They have a transition

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assistance program.
It is.

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It is not comprehensive.
It's enough because when you

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think about the DoD has to pay
unemployment.

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When veterans get out of the
military and they don't get a

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job right away, the DoD is
paying that unemployment.

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So there's a huge incentive for
them to not pay that and help

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those veterans get into good
jobs.

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But it's still not enough.
So my transition out, I spent

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the 1st 12 years in 10 different
jobs in four different states.

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Wow, goodness.
Trying to find where my skills

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fit right, but I had.
The sad part is I had years of

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training, including computer
programming way back then.

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Yeah.
That's what he does.

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And probably not in COBOL or.
Fortune, yeah.

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Everybody don't even know what
those are I.

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Do I do?
I've talked to.

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A foundation.
Of yeah and my mom shares your

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background in the computer
programming world so her.

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Yeah, she was actually doing
COBOL.

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Yeah, her and Heath get to
compare what there is now versus

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what there was.
I mean, I was.

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Programming, you know,
spreadsheets and graphs before

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Microsoft never came about so
well.

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Their skills help.
But it did.

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But I mean, I had those skills,
but then when I got out and I

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had to write a resume, I went to
a resume writer cuz I've never

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had a resume before.
And they basically said no one's

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gonna understand what you did in
the military or why as a female

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you were in the military.
So because you're a female, go

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get a job as an administrative
assistant.

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No offense to administrative
assistants.

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They're very underrated
profession out there.

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It's just like a big.
I started over.

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I lost 9 years of experience,
training and pay.

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You think about it.
And I spent then 12 years trying

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to get back to that.
So it was, it was a rough

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transition and sadly it's still
happening today.

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Absolutely.
And what started me on this

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path, the catalyst for it was
then thirteen years after I

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found my path, it was still
happening.

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And that was the catalyst for
creating what I.

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I want to dive into how you
found your path over those 13

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years.
It was tough because I mean, I

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got a job after the 12 years of
Nomad ship going around and

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figuring that out.
I got a job at a corporate

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company, Fortune 50 company,
doing the exact same job I was

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doing when I got out of the
Navy.

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So fortunately, I mean, I found
my way back to what I was doing

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in the Navy with that company.
But then I, you know, as I was

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finishing my masters, I met an
Army veteran's wife.

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I hadn't had anything to do with
the military that whole time

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because I was a little
dishearted when I got out.

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But I met an Army veteran's wife
in our chat room and she

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commented that her husband had
been out for six months, could

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not get an interview.
Now, this is 25 years after I

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left the Navy.
I'm thinking, why?

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Why is this still happening?
You know?

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And it broke my heart really,
because that becomes the

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statistic.
Employment is tied to so many

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things that veterans face.
And if you can't get that

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employment and that career and
that purpose back or where your

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skills fit, you fall into that
cycle of depression, which leads

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to drug and alcohol abuse, which
leads to suicide, which leads to

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divorce, which leads to all
these problems.

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And if we can help them, which
is why we do what we do, we can

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help them get into that
employment that values them as a

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person and values their skills,
we can stop those downward

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effects.
Hence this and collective.

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Exactly.
Exactly.

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So that's really the turning
point it sounds like where you

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decided I want to do something
about that.

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Absolutely.
It was really a light bulb

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moment for me.
I grew up, you know, I had a

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very tumultuous childhood.
I'd always wanted to be a child

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psychologist because I thought I
could save other children from

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doing what happened to me.
Fortunately, the Navy found me

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because I got to be an advocate
going into the Navy for women.

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I joined the Navy in 1979 and
women couldn't do certain roles,

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not because we weren't smart
enough, not because we weren't

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strong.
Enough just those that's.

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Because we were women.
And so I thought that so much

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and so that, you know, my
childhood, my Navy time, all

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that advocacy really brought me
to wanting to create this.

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You might have just mentioned
it.

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What encourage you to join the
military?

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Timing again.
My childhood was kind of

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tumultuous.
My stepfather would not reveal

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his finances, so I couldn't
apply for college.

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I had a scholarship to a local
Community College and I couldn't

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go because he wouldn't reveal
his finances.

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And so the Navy recruiter came
to the high school one day, just

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perfect timing, and said, hey,
join the Navy, see the world.

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And I believed him.
Did you see?

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I did see parts of the world
that I probably I didn't even

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know existed.
My first duty station out of

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basic and then doing the
assistant company commander was

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in Iceland.
That's a beautiful.

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You have to go I.
Want to say Madison?

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Right at the top of the that.
Is one of the places you always

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what a.
Great place to go, yeah.

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But when the dispatcher I called
and they said you're going to

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keplific ice and like where is
that right?

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And no idea where it was.
So yes, I got to, I spent two

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years in Iceland.
Absolutely Fabulous and.

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Where were you from originally?
Indiana.

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OK, so Indiana to Iceland.
That's quite the.

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Move.
Exactly.

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And then I did hot and cold.
So I had two years in Iceland,

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then I went to Jacksonville, FL,
then I went to Brunswick, ME and

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three years in Hawaii.
Wow.

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Yeah, I did see some cool
places.

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I did.
They created you to see the

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world, and that you did, I did.
From 1:00, almost one side to

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the other, yeah.
Both of my both my granddads

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were in the military.
One was Navy, one was Army.

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They went to like Germany.
And then the other one, he

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doesn't even remember where he
went.

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He's like, we're in the Middle
East somewhere.

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I think it was Kuwait because
it's kind of like rebordered a

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little bit or so.
Yeah, I don't know.

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But very cool.
I wish that we made it cooler to

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like or just be more attractive
for young kids to think about

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joining the military because it
is such a good, like, outlet for

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it is when that opportunity's
not there.

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Yeah, there there is an alley
per SE to kind of like get on

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the right path.
I think part of the problem is

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only 1% of the of the population
in the US has served in uniform.

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So there's not that kind of
legacy, you know, family

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tradition kind of thing.
Like there was back from the

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Civil War, the revolutionary to
the, you know, to the world

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wars, right.
Every family member served at

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that point.
Yeah.

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I've been in rooms where they've
asked.

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Raise your hand if you how do
grandparents serve?

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Ever raise your hand.
Raise your hand if your parents

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served.
Yeah, not as many.

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Raise your hand if you're
serving not as much.

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And so I think there, you know,
there's that that part of it,

231
00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:12,800
but then there's also because
there's so much veteran suicide,

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00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:16,480
there's so much veteran issues
coming out of the military that

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00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:20,280
people look at that and say, why
would I serve in the military

234
00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:23,600
and then come out and struggle?
I'll just struggle now and, you

235
00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:26,800
know, make my way right.
So the DoD is working on that.

236
00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:29,720
Again, a lot of times it's that
perception.

237
00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:33,960
I know a lot of places are are
trying to beef up going to the

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00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:35,440
military.
There are a lot of countries

239
00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:38,840
that you have to serve in the
military twice or two years.

240
00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:41,160
That's you go right into the
military.

241
00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:44,640
Yes, at a certain age I'm.
A certain proponent of that

242
00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:47,280
because the training that you
get, I mean the discipline.

243
00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:51,240
The respect for our generation
has such a little respect for

244
00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:53,400
authority and it's a serious
issue.

245
00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:56,160
It is because you haven't had to
suffer, right?

246
00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:58,920
True.
Life's too easy, yes?

247
00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:01,560
You're right and that it's
really sad, but the military

248
00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:04,440
does give you a lot and there
are a lot of organizations now.

249
00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:07,760
You get a lot out of it after
you come out, so it's worth it.

250
00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:12,760
Your story is amazing, and so to
take that experience and now be

251
00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:16,560
thriving in Ascend Collective.
And what were some of the

252
00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:20,040
initial challenges or struggles
that you had when you did start

253
00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:22,040
Ascend Collective?
Funding.

254
00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:24,240
Funding's always an issue for a
small business.

255
00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:26,520
I bootstrapped the organization.
Yeah.

256
00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:31,280
And it just really, it's
continued to be an issue.

257
00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:35,560
I think part of it being a woman
too, I hate to to go down that

258
00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:38,920
path, but it really is true that
funding for women is a lot

259
00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:43,240
harder.
And so that was an issue, but I

260
00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:48,480
think that it it served as the
persistence to why I keep doing

261
00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:50,800
what I do.
Because if you if you know your

262
00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:56,000
why and you go back to that, any
obstacles you have or you face,

263
00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,200
you just overcome them.
You just like, I have to do this

264
00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:03,320
like there's no, I have no
choice because I love what I get

265
00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:06,200
to do every day.
I love who I get to help.

266
00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:10,640
And so the struggles were that
I'm also an introvert, so I

267
00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:13,000
could tell.
So yeah.

268
00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:17,640
So I networking is tough for me
and you have small business, you

269
00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:19,760
have to get out there, you have
to network.

270
00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:23,000
And so that was a struggle for
me in the beginning because I

271
00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:25,760
didn't like, I mean I would
literally walk into a room full

272
00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:30,240
of people and my energy would
drain and I'd be like, I can't

273
00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:31,920
be here for like more than 5
minutes.

274
00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:33,960
And it was tough and you didn't
know anybody.

275
00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:36,840
So not knowing anybody, not
having anybody to immediately go

276
00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:39,400
over and start to talk to it
just drained.

277
00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:41,000
I.
Can very much relate with that.

278
00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,200
We're opposites in that respect.
She feeds off and.

279
00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:46,560
My husband does too.
Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, she

280
00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:48,760
loves talking.
To everyone I love going from

281
00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:51,840
one event to the next again, so
one event gives me more energy.

282
00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:54,400
Drag him along.
He's.

283
00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:58,840
All for that.
He feels good about it too

284
00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:00,200
though.
But I think it's normal.

285
00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:04,000
Those events drain most people.
I and I guess your husband get

286
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:06,880
energy from it but that is the
norm.

287
00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,000
So when you started, you had to
network.

288
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:10,640
It was required.
Yeah, you had to.

289
00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:11,640
You had to get your name out
there.

290
00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:15,200
Yeah, so, and we've got a huge
network now, fortunately, and

291
00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:17,160
I've got some really good people
in my corner.

292
00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,640
So and what year was that?
The Easter. 2018.

293
00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:24,880
Okay, so right before Covad.
Yes, years before Covic and the

294
00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:28,800
idea, I left corporate America
in 2015 to start the business.

295
00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:31,120
I knew I wanted to do something,
but I didn't have the money.

296
00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:35,520
So it took me a few years to
kind of raise the money and kind

297
00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:39,040
of have enough to get started to
build the AI that is now the

298
00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:39,800
platform.
Is it?

299
00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:42,520
Common for ex military to start
their own business.

300
00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:44,280
It is because I would think the
opposite.

301
00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:46,840
When militaries like do this,
take orders, don't think about

302
00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:48,760
it like you don't, you kind of
lose some of the creativity

303
00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:51,280
aspect.
You become more of a employee

304
00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:52,800
mindset.
Versus a leader.

305
00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:56,200
Well, they train leaders, too.
But that also, that also gives

306
00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:57,800
you, because there are a lot of
people out there who have a lot

307
00:14:57,800 --> 00:14:59,480
of ideas.
They're like, OK, I don't want

308
00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:00,920
to.
I don't want to stifle my

309
00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:03,400
creativity anymore, so I'm going
to start my own business so.

310
00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:06,280
They're kind of hungry.
Yes, absolutely, absolutely.

311
00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:08,920
And they don't want to work for
anybody else.

312
00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:11,200
Again, like they don't want to
take orders.

313
00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:14,040
Especially like.
Yes, absolutely.

314
00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:17,280
What are some of the like jobs
that you are helping women get

315
00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:20,240
now or veterans like what are
some of the cool stories that

316
00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:22,280
you have or placements that
you've had recently?

317
00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:25,320
Oh gosh, there's so many.
We've worked with over 200

318
00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:27,920
businesses over the seven years
now.

319
00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:31,240
The Ascend just to clarify the
Ascend collective came about we

320
00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:35,480
started out as veterans ascend
in 2018 as a for profit company.

321
00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:40,480
In 2022 we we formed the ascend
collective as a nonprofit and

322
00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:42,520
moved veterans ascend over to
that.

323
00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:46,120
And then we formed military
spouse ascend mission to ascend,

324
00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:49,200
which is for justice impacted
and our ability ascend, which is

325
00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:51,400
for the diverse ability
community.

326
00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:54,960
So now we have a founders ascend
also for small business

327
00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:55,640
founders.
So we.

328
00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,520
Have education.
Resources and advocacy is all

329
00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,520
part of that.
So, so over the seven years,

330
00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:04,640
gosh, we so one of the best
stories is we had a veteran in

331
00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:08,960
Jacksonville, FL, his wife
wanted to, to move to Baltimore.

332
00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:11,720
He was struggling, couldn't get
connections there.

333
00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:13,640
He created a profile on our
platform.

334
00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:17,880
We just happened to have a, a
nonprofit in Baltimore sign up

335
00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,320
the next day.
They got matched.

336
00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:21,520
He got the job.
Oh.

337
00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:22,600
Perfect.
Yeah, quick.

338
00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:26,120
So it is quick and it doesn't
always happen that way because

339
00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:28,320
we don't scrape anything off the
Internet.

340
00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:32,920
So our platform is about real
careers for real candidates.

341
00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:37,400
So it's a process of we have to
have employers using our

342
00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:40,720
platform and giving U.S. jobs to
fill, careers to fill, so.

343
00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:42,880
When someone comes here, they
really want someone, yes.

344
00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:45,560
Absolutely.
And so it's kind of a, it's a

345
00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:48,040
chicken and egg.
It's a very delicate balancing

346
00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:52,280
act for us to have enough
employers to satisfy the

347
00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:56,080
candidates that we have have
enough candidates to find for

348
00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:58,360
the employers.
So, but we kept it that way.

349
00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:00,680
There's a lot of organizations
out there who just scrape.

350
00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:03,880
Yeah.
Off of the yeah and.

351
00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:05,760
Trying to get something to
match.

352
00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:07,440
We've got a.
Million open jobs on our

353
00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:10,040
platform.
Yeah, there's a million open

354
00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:12,400
jobs in this country.
Right.

355
00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:14,800
And you're just scraping it so
we don't do.

356
00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:17,400
That how many employees do y'all
have at your company?

357
00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:20,960
So we've got 5 right now.
Local to Greenville or spread

358
00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:23,400
out?
They're spread out, so we've got

359
00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:26,720
one in Blythewood, OK.
Oh, I used to live near I, I

360
00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:28,319
would have gone to Spring Valley
High School.

361
00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:30,360
I used to live in that area
right over from Blythewood.

362
00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:32,600
Awesome.
And then we've got one in

363
00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:36,360
Anderson and we've got one in
Jacksonville and another one.

364
00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:38,160
Where's the other one?
Florida?

365
00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:42,000
Why is everyone so spread out?
Because we hire military spouses

366
00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:45,680
and veterans, we're all veterans
and military spouses, and we

367
00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:47,200
find them where they're.
As because.

368
00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:49,920
Of their skills.
That's why we hire them so.

369
00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:52,680
I do you want to mention this
real quick because I think it's

370
00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:58,480
important given your service.
You did earn the US Navy

371
00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:00,880
Achievement Medal, which is a
big deal.

372
00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:04,120
And so that one says a lot about
you.

373
00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:05,320
Again, thank you for your
service.

374
00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:08,720
But two, you have leadership
skills and you were able to

375
00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:11,160
achieve a lot during your tenure
in the military.

376
00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:14,520
So how do things like that
transfer every to leading this

377
00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:17,040
team of five now and operating
your business?

378
00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:19,640
Yeah, a great question.
So then thank you for that.

379
00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:26,200
You know, I earned that as I was
in Hawaii and part of my

380
00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:27,720
journey, I wanted to become an
officer.

381
00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:30,440
I was enlisted and I wanted to
become an officer.

382
00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:32,480
So I had to do certain things.
And part of that was

383
00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:36,160
volunteering at a, a timeout, a
Red Cross timeout nursery.

384
00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:42,120
It was downtown Honolulu and,
and beautiful, like right there

385
00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:45,920
in the beach, like a key, like
it couldn't, couldn't beat it,

386
00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:48,960
right?
But the concept of it was that

387
00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,560
people in the community could
bring their kids there for the

388
00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,120
afternoon because they couldn't
afford daycare, They couldn't

389
00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:57,320
afford childcare.
And the mom's parents just

390
00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:00,760
needed a break.
And it was so rewarding to when

391
00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:02,800
I first started, there were kids
that would come in and they

392
00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:05,280
would barely come through the
door and just, you could just

393
00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:07,680
see the pain and them.
And of course, from my

394
00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:09,840
background of wanting to be a
child psychologist, it was like

395
00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:12,560
the perfect fit for me.
But over the weeks you could see

396
00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,440
the kids come in and just, they
were so happy to be there.

397
00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:18,440
So it was really great.
But you know, the leadership in

398
00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:22,240
that and the leadership that I,
I gained in the Navy because

399
00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:27,160
I've advanced very quickly.
It transferred over to

400
00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:30,600
understanding people today and
how people to lead today.

401
00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:33,880
You know, in the military, you
don't get to choose your team.

402
00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:36,240
You don't get to hire the people
that work for you.

403
00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:40,360
So you have to make it work.
You've got to figure out how

404
00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:44,360
each person learns, how each
person communicates, and really

405
00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:46,240
just treat them like human
beings.

406
00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:48,280
And for me, that's really what
it comes down to.

407
00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:51,200
If more leaders would treat
people like human beings, right,

408
00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:54,680
we'd all be in a better place, I
think.

409
00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:57,920
So I think it translates
perfectly to just really

410
00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:01,160
especially, you know, building a
nonprofit, that leadership is

411
00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:03,800
about the people.
You're really selling me on the

412
00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:06,120
required like one year minimum
service.

413
00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:08,280
Or something.
I just feel like like our

414
00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:10,920
generation especially could
benefit so much from that, just

415
00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:13,320
from the lessons you learn from
that, learning to work with

416
00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:14,800
others that you don't want to
work with.

417
00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:16,280
Absolutely.
There's so many people like I

418
00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:17,960
don't want to do this, so they
don't.

419
00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:21,160
It's you don't have a choice.
I mean, a couple things you

420
00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:23,280
don't want to do, yeah.
Absolutely, yeah.

421
00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:25,680
Because in the military, I mean,
you look right and left and it

422
00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:29,120
doesn't matter.
You know, female, blonde, you

423
00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:32,600
know, ethnicity doesn't matter.
That person has your back and

424
00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:35,320
you've got theirs and it's the
bottom line and that's the way

425
00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:37,240
it should be.
And you also do a lot of work

426
00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:39,600
with the Upstate Warrior
Solution here in Greenville.

427
00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:42,120
I did.
So I work, I work out at the gym

428
00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:44,440
they have over there.
They just opened it like I guess

429
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:46,800
a couple years ago, something
over like every day.

430
00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:48,680
I love it there.
But what are some of the

431
00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,360
projects the Upstate Warrior
Solution is has been involved

432
00:20:51,360 --> 00:20:52,360
with up here?
Oh gosh.

433
00:20:52,360 --> 00:20:56,080
So I when I finished my masters,
I got in touch with a person

434
00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:58,320
here in Greenville that I knew
because I wanted to get back

435
00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,440
into the military community.
I had switched my masters after

436
00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:05,480
I met the Army veteran's wife to
to focus on transitioning

437
00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,080
service members.
So I got introduced to Charlie

438
00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,440
at Upstate Warrior Solution and
love, absolutely love Charlie

439
00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:14,560
and I started volunteering for
them in 2014.

440
00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:18,600
They had Charlie and a bunch of
volunteers and I was one of them

441
00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:23,960
and so I worked for them.
Gosh, for like 7, 55 or six

442
00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:26,040
years.
So I haven't been involved with

443
00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:29,880
them too much lately, but they
do great work from just the

444
00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:32,320
community bringing resources
together.

445
00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:35,680
I'm working on justice impacted.
There's a veterans treatment

446
00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:38,000
court that upstate warriors
solution leads.

447
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:40,880
So just really great work in the
community and I, I loved it

448
00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:45,000
because I, I got some really
great, they were all young

449
00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:50,240
transitioning soldiers, Marines.
So I got to learn first hand

450
00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:54,720
what the transition was like
then like that right now, which

451
00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:59,560
helped me build what I built so.
Yeah, I do feel for the people

452
00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:01,000
that are going through the
transition.

453
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:01,800
It's.
It's.

454
00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:05,280
Tough like it's not like you,
you serve and it's that's not

455
00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:06,720
easy.
Then the transition is not easy.

456
00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:08,720
And then in a way, you're kind
of like behind because like you

457
00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:11,200
said, you got to start over.
So it's really neat that you're

458
00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:14,000
helping fill this gap because
there's definitely a need there.

459
00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:17,520
There is and you know it's, it's
you think you're going through

460
00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:20,080
it alone because you're the only
one at the moment.

461
00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:21,960
You're only here by yourself.
You don't remember.

462
00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,800
There's 18,000,000 veterans that
have probably gone the same path

463
00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:27,800
you have because that's why we
tell people a lot.

464
00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:30,720
Please don't sit and think
you're alone.

465
00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:33,880
You're not.
There's so many resources out

466
00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:35,240
there.
Just reach out to someone.

467
00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:38,360
The problem with it is that we
don't like to ask for help.

468
00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:40,680
You don't really ask for help in
the military.

469
00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:44,320
You figure it out, right?
And, and for me as a female in

470
00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:46,960
the military, I couldn't ask for
help because I didn't want to

471
00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,160
look weak.
I didn't want people to think I

472
00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:52,160
didn't know how to do something.
So I just figured it out on my

473
00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:54,080
own.
And you, you know, you bring

474
00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:56,600
that out into the civilian world
where you just don't ask for

475
00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:58,600
help.
And I always say, and I've

476
00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:01,800
learned this, I've, I've had it
drilled into my head, asking for

477
00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:03,880
help is a sign of courage, not
weakness.

478
00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:05,920
So.
That's good advice.

479
00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:08,680
Yeah.
One thing I like to ask about,

480
00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:12,240
going off of the advice you just
shared, is what advice do you

481
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:14,280
have?
One for young professionals.

482
00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:15,840
We have a lot of young
professionals that listen on

483
00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:18,240
this podcast.
But two, I'm a woman in

484
00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:20,000
business.
There's a lot of women that are

485
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:21,600
working.
So what advice do you have for

486
00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:24,520
young professionals, women, and
then to your point, veterans?

487
00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:26,800
Yeah.
Build a community.

488
00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:30,560
Yeah, build a community.
There's so many organizations.

489
00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:34,760
There's so many just mentorships
out there for people.

490
00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:39,200
Find a tribe, people that you
know are going to have your back

491
00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:43,000
that are going to challenge you
also because you don't want just

492
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:44,760
people that are going to say,
oh, you're so great.

493
00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:49,120
Just everything you do is.
Great be constructive feedback.

494
00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:52,200
I agree.
I mean, I have lots of ideas.

495
00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:54,880
Not all of them are good.
How my chief of staff will tell

496
00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:56,360
you that not all of them are
good.

497
00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:59,000
And so you need people that are
going to challenge you, but you

498
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:02,320
need people that you can go to.
You know, I can talk to my

499
00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:04,800
husband about the business or
the challenges of the business,

500
00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:08,360
but he's not in it with me and
he doesn't run a small business.

501
00:24:08,360 --> 00:24:10,000
He hasn't been in that
environment.

502
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,280
So he can listen and he can
sympathize, but he he doesn't

503
00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:18,880
know how to help me other than
to just let me vent, which is

504
00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:20,280
really good sometimes.
Yeah, right.

505
00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:21,800
But.
You need that, you need that

506
00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:25,120
mentorship, you need that, that
community and it's out there.

507
00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:26,680
You just have to go find it,
right?

508
00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:28,040
So.
You've been leaving this

509
00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:29,560
business for almost a decade
now.

510
00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:31,880
Yeah.
And obviously leading a small

511
00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:35,000
business is no easy feat.
Are there any like routines or

512
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:38,040
habits or disciplines that have
helped you, maybe a daily

513
00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:40,960
discipline that has helped you
kind of keep this business

514
00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:43,920
afloat, you know?
I'm not as good as that at that

515
00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:47,200
as some people are, as most
people are because again, I'm

516
00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:49,560
I'm an introvert and I'm create,
I'm a creative.

517
00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:54,280
I have all these ideas and not
very focused sometimes, but you

518
00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:57,480
have to have you have to have
calendar main management.

519
00:24:57,880 --> 00:24:59,360
So we.
Learned that in our marriage.

520
00:24:59,360 --> 00:25:02,400
Quick, right?
You gotta block out times that

521
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:05,000
you're gonna focus on a certain
thing and then give yourself a

522
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:07,480
break.
Focus on another thing, give

523
00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,000
yourself a break.
But because you can get

524
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:11,960
scattered, I mean, you could get
pulled, especially a small

525
00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:14,840
business owner who's got all the
hats, right?

526
00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:17,920
I have some staff, but they
don't do all the things right.

527
00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,960
I still have a lot on my plate.
And so you have to be able to

528
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,920
manage all those things.
And so you've got to have time

529
00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:25,840
management and calendar
management.

530
00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:28,000
I think that was, that would be
the first thing I would say.

531
00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:31,640
And again, tap into those
resources, those community

532
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:34,560
people that hey, I'm struggling
with XYZ.

533
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:37,360
Do you have any ideas?
Do you know somebody that I can

534
00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:39,760
talk to?
So that's really helpful.

535
00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:41,800
When it comes to calendar
manager, I was actually thinking

536
00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:45,600
about this yesterday when we
were like maybe engaged I think.

537
00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:47,480
But there's a concert I want to
go to in town.

538
00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:49,560
So I bought 2 tickets to the
concert and didn't tell

539
00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:52,120
Christina.
And so it's like a week before

540
00:25:52,120 --> 00:25:54,520
the concert and she's like yeah
all our friends are going to

541
00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:55,440
this.
They're like Oh yeah, we are

542
00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:56,680
too.
And she's like what?

543
00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:57,240
Then?
We're not.

544
00:25:57,640 --> 00:25:58,800
We have plans that night.
I.

545
00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:00,160
Think we had like family dinner
so we.

546
00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:02,240
Have a family dinner.
I'm like, I already got these

547
00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:04,120
tickets.
She's like, you didn't tell me.

548
00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:08,120
So we learned very quickly a
shared calendar is key in

549
00:26:08,120 --> 00:26:08,480
marriage.
It's.

550
00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:10,520
Just so funny, like something
you've never had to think about

551
00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:12,440
before.
And then, like, just engagement,

552
00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:13,120
marriage.
Yeah.

553
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:17,480
Our family, because my daughter
lives here with her husband and

554
00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:20,800
her five children who have all
kinds of activities going on.

555
00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:23,640
We have a shared calendar and
it's just for information.

556
00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:26,360
However, what I would say is
surprises are a good thing.

557
00:26:26,360 --> 00:26:29,720
Yeah.
So just put like surprise event

558
00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:31,840
or you know, yeah.
Don't.

559
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,600
Block the calendar for don't
schedule.

560
00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:35,400
Mystery.
Yeah.

561
00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:38,080
Did you?
Still want to have that?

562
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:39,840
Yeah.
Of surprise, yes.

563
00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:42,080
And gifts, yes, that's true,
yeah.

564
00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:44,920
This is good.
We're in year 2 going on three

565
00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:48,800
of marriage so all the advice is
welcome, but it's been a fun two

566
00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:51,280
years so.
Communication is key.

567
00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:54,960
You have to communicate, you
know, and just don't let the

568
00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:57,880
little things bother you, right?
Pick and choose your battles.

569
00:26:57,880 --> 00:26:59,640
Absolutely.
Absolutely.

570
00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:02,640
One question I want to ask
before we wrap up here in a

571
00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:06,480
second is what legacy do you
hope to build through the Ascend

572
00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:09,120
Collective, not only in the
Carolinas with Carolina business

573
00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:12,840
leaders, but all over the US?
Wow, that's a great question and

574
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:15,840
I love the question because I
really believe that I'm building

575
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:18,640
my legacy.
This is my swan song, as they

576
00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:20,600
say.
This is the last thing I will do

577
00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:23,120
before I retire or leave this
earth.

578
00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:29,240
So our legacy really is built on
equity, dignity and opportunity

579
00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:33,560
for people and to have people be
seen for who they are, their

580
00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:37,200
potential, their skills, their
humanity, not just what's on a

581
00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:40,080
piece of AER.
And if we can really, if our

582
00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:44,000
work can just help even one
person believe that they deserve

583
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:48,400
a second chance, that they can
have a meaningful career based

584
00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:51,440
on their skills, that they can
have a future that they're so

585
00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:53,520
proud of, then then we've done
our job.

586
00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:54,720
And I feel like we're doing
that.

587
00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:58,040
I feel like we're building that.
And we have so far, we've got a

588
00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:00,640
lot more work to do.
But but it's really about, you

589
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:04,760
know, changing those mindsets
and shifting and looking at

590
00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:08,800
skills 1st and helping the world
see, I'm going to have a tagline

591
00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:13,160
here helping the world see that
people truly believe deserve the

592
00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:16,080
opportunity to ascend.
That was good.

593
00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,840
Robin, before we got on here,
you mentioned you have a podcast

594
00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:22,360
as well.
So if anyone's listening to this

595
00:28:22,360 --> 00:28:25,040
episode, whether it's veterans
or anyone that wants to help

596
00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:28,040
your mission, what is the best
way to connect with you?

597
00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:30,240
Yeah, just you can go on our
website,

598
00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:32,960
theascendcollective.org.
You'll see it on there.

599
00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:36,160
But the podcast is called
Ascending Beyond Barriers, and

600
00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:38,920
we love sharing stories of
people's triumphs and challenges

601
00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:41,400
so other people can learn.
I love y'all's mission.

602
00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:43,600
Your mission is great.
What you're doing is incredible.

603
00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:44,640
So happy you're here in the
episode.

604
00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:47,960
It was a pleasure for you to
Share your story with us, but I

605
00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:49,120
really appreciate it of that.
Thank you.

606
00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:50,880
Thank you, Robin.
Thank you.