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Merissa Blackwell:
Getting bad grades was a no go in my house. That meant education was important, but also knowing that education is the, the thing that was gonna take you to whatever dreams. Or whatever aspirations that I had. And so in order to do that, I needed to make sure I had good grades, good study habits and things like that. And so education has always been important, and it's one of those things that we instill in our daughter.

Intro:
Welcome to the UMGC podcast, unstoppable Stories with your host, Nathan James.

Nathan James:
Yes. Hello everybody. It's Nathan. I'm here with Marissa Blackwell. Marissa is an Army Reserves officer, a lieutenant colonel, and she is a logistics officer for the federal government and a UMGC alumna class of 2013, uh, with her MBA. Marissa, thank you for being on with us.

Merissa Blackwell:
Thank you for having me.

Nathan James:
Yep. Welcome to you. Um, I hope you're having a great day so far over there. It is great to have you on. It is really great to have you on. And let's start a little bit about your upbringing. Tell us, talk to us about, uh, where you grew up.

Merissa Blackwell:
Okay, so I'm originally from Augusta, Georgia. Um, I lived there all my life until I, you know, graduated from high school and then college. Um, and then of course I grew up with my three older brothers, so Brad, Rodney and Marcus, and then my mom and dad, and then just a host of. Family members where we spend a lot of time together. We also spend a lot of time, uh, you know, going to church, doing those types of things.

But also, uh, for me, I played sports as well, so I played basketball, um, read in a little track and field. Um, tried, tried my hand at soccer one time and that was a note for me. So I just kind of stuck with, uh, basketball and track. Um, only really got into track when I joined the Army. I. Um, reserve. And so I joined when I was 17, so my parents had to sign for me, and, and that's a whole nother story, uh, just because my mom was like, okay, cool.

But my dad was like, yeah, not really having that. So I had to do a lot of. Convincing of them to let me do that. But I will say, uh, doing that taught me a lot, but also got me into running a lot more. And so that is kinda like one of the things I do like to do where the weather's pretty decent. Um, it's just a good way to, you know, kind of clear your mind, but also making sure you're. You're staying active and everything. So those are just, you know, just a quick snippet about me, uh, growing up in Augusta.

Nathan James:
No, that's great. So do you still run?

Merissa Blackwell:
I do only because the Army requires me to run, so I gotta.

Merissa Blackwell:
I gotta keep it up and make sure that I'm meeting my time for my PT test. So I do still run.

But I also do other things too. Just so you know, like it's been so cold here in Maryland lately, so I just find other ways to do like HIIT workouts or you know, just cardio or just get on a Peloton and ride the bike. So just to, to keep that up. But also doing, you know, other things like drift training and that. So just kind of keep your stamina up.

Nathan James:
Great. I'm jealous of the running part personally. Uh, I'm gonna be honest. 'cause when I try to run, oh, what's this pain in my knee? What's this pain in my knee? I just can't keep it up for long. But you're, you're doing it obviously for the army, right? Especially now. And um, you said you joined the army, I think straight outta high school, right? So did you imagine yourself doing that? Right. Was that a surprise to you? Had you planned on it? What was that like?

Merissa Blackwell:
So not, not really my plan. Um, we all, you know, kind of have these things as you're growing up. You, you say, I wanna be this when I grow up. But then reality starts to set in around your sophomore junior year where it's like, okay, yeah, I wanna do that.

Why am I gonna pay for it? Um, and so in high school, the entire time I was in Navy, J-R-O-T-C. And just because of the field trips and the things that we went on, I already knew that the Navy wasn't for me. Uh, and I'm just gonna be real being in like. Tight spots, almost claustrophobic. You know, we've, we've had, you know, field trips where we went on certain rays of things like this, and I was like, yeah, no. Okay. Um, and so for me, I was like, there's Air Force and then there's Army. Uh, Maria was just outta the question. For me at least. And so, you know, just doing your research and, and seeing what fits and kind of what works for you and then what speaks to you. So, um, the Army and the Air Force have a lot of jobs.

Not to say that, you know, the Navy or any of the other branches don't. But, um, I could see myself using those skills. They're easily transferable. Right? Um, and again, not to say that the other services is not like that, but a lot of those jobs you could easily see yourself saying, yep. I could go do this and then, you know, do my reserve time and turn around and do that same thing in your daily job. Right? And so looking at that and then just looking for ways to find my education, you know, at the time it was the Montgomery GI Bill. Um, so I was eligible for that. Um, and then I just explored, you know, other opportunities as well. Um. My N-J-R-O-T-C instructors, they always encouraged us to look at, you know, ROTC scholarships per college.

Uh, wasn't real, again, wasn't really in my plan. I was already like, okay, I'm already, you know, in the reserve. I'm already doing this, so I could just continue, you know, while I'm at college, depending on where I'm at. Uh, but I did have one instructor who said, you should really put in for a scholarship, and I said, okay. Um, and I did that and I got a full ride, uh, scholarship for my undergraduate degree at Tuskegee University. And so either way, uh, it just all worked itself out. It wasn't planned, but you have to trust. I. Um, and then you also have to look at, you know, sometimes we see things in our, we don't see things in ourself that other people see.

And so my instructors, um, throughout high school always saw something in me in regards to like, leadership. And I'm, I'm the quiet girl off to the side, and I'm just like, Nope, that ain't me. Uh, but they always made sure, uh, to give me opportunities. And once you give me the opportunity, then it's up to me to, to decide where I take it.

And I always took it. Uh, to where it needed to be. And then I ended up my senior year in high school being the commander of our N-J-R-O-T-C, uh, high school unit.

Nathan James:
So that's powerful, right? Yes. Being others, seeing something in you that you don't see in yourself, right? Mm-hmm. Um, and I think, I think you're saying that helped give some belief, right?

For you to be able to take those next steps, even as far as being, you know, a leader, um, which clearly you've become an incredible leader. Okay? Okay. Talk to me, talk to us about. Um, really from there, your prioritization right. Of education. Okay. Because I know from, uh, early on, education was very important for you.

Right. How did education become important to you in the first place? Was it something that you saw modeled or was it something that you were inspired by someone else, maybe in your class?

Merissa Blackwell:
Um, so I would say, uh. Getting bad grades was a no go in my house. So that there, it's, that meant education was important, but also knowing that education is the, the thing that was gonna take you to wherever, whatever dreams or whatever aspirations that I had.

And so in order to, to do that, I needed to make sure I had good grades, good study habits and things like that. And so. Education has always been important, and it's one of those things that, you know, I, we instill in our daughter Alyssa, to this day. I mean, she's in sixth grade, but she has a great understanding that, um, she is capable of doing anything.

Um, that she, she wants to, knowing that education is gonna be one of the catalysts that takes her there. And so, uh, just being reminded of, you know, the things my parents said to me growing up as far as education, make sure you're taking it seriously, um, because you never know where it would lead you. And God knows, I never thought I would be where I am today if I hadn't had that foundation and good education.

Um. All the way through, uh, all the way to UMGC, right? And it just kind of set me up every level. Set me up for, for the next thing. And so education will always be important and, you know, we're always learning. Um, and it's always good to be a continuous learner 'cause you don't know everything. Right? And so, because we don't know everything, it is one of those things is, you know, you know, get in a book.

Sitting down and reading, like, we don't even like to do that no more with physical books. Like I am a physical book person, so if you gonna tell me to read a book, don't tell me to read it on the phone or anything like that. I like the physical books. I can go and highlight. Because it helps me to remember things.

Right? And so I think that's, that's one of those things, you know, that at least for me growing up the way, coming through the nineties, you know, being an eighties baby. Yeah. We, we were the ones that kind of sheltered in all this. Huh. All this technology that we see today is so, but for, for me, knowing that I could still go back to a physical book and highlight and write notes, 'cause that's what helps me to, to remember things.

Nathan James:
Yeah. You know, going back over your story. Uh, that's one of the things that stuck out to me. You as a voracious learner, like you said, a continuous learner. I think you said in the past, a forever learner, right? You would describe yourself as a forever learner. We should all be forever learners, I think you said.

Yes. Um, right. And I, I mean, your life just seems to summarize that so well. Um, and I mean, look, you've gone to multiple colleges now, right? Tuskegee, uh, UMGC. Um, so I. What did you study, uh, at Tuskegee? Tell what'd you learn, you know, there, and, and from there we'll talk about how you got to UMGC.

Merissa Blackwell:
Okay. So my major was in political science and my minor was in business administration.

Um, and so there, you know, reason why, 'cause at the time when I started there I said, oh, I wanna be a lawyer. Um, but I was at ROTC, so my life was already super busy. So I was at ROTC, I was in choir. Uh, my schedule was full, so all day, every day. I was somewhere in a classroom or in the library or something like that, studying.

Um, but at the time my thought was I wanna be a lawyer. Um, and political science is the best way to do that. However, I learned so much more about, you know, it's not really just about law is how other countries and how. Their government's function and things like that. And so really learning about our government, of course, and then how ours compares to others.

And then when you talk about leaders and how everybody leads, you know, in their, in their different aspects of their positions, um, I learned a lot there. And so I decided, like at the end of my freshman year, I'm gonna also minor in. Business administration one, because I was like, well, if I'm gonna be a lawyer at some point I need to learn some business, you know, um, acumen.

And at our school, in the business house, which is what we called it, you had to dress up. When you went to class in a business house, so you had to be in business attire. So, um, that was a blouse, you know, slacks, skirt if you wanted to go all out with a suit. So that's where I would say like learning professionalism really started, our teachers really keyed in on.

Yes, learn everything you get to, you need to learn here. But they also taught us how to be professionals, right? How to navigate in the workplace, wherever you were going after you left Tuskegee. You are going to know how to function in a workplace. And the first thing it started with was our appearance and the way we looked.

Um, and so I know a lot of people might not think that's important, but it plays a role, right? Because some people, you know, your perception is everything. So if you look a certain way. I might not take you as seriously because it looks like you're not taking things seriously just by the way you present yourself.

Right? And so it just taught us how to really just keen in on those things that are important. I. Um, when it, when it comes to how to carry yourself in the workplace. And so, uh, just taking those things and, and learning, you know, marketing, we learn statistics, which anybody that will tell you that went to Tuskegee, that's, that took that statistics class, I.

Yeah, it was hard. I think that was probably one of the hardest classes I've ever taken in my life. Um, but I'm grateful for it and I'm grateful for the experience because it taught me how to persevere through something that didn't come as easy, uh, to me as everything else kind of, sort of did. Right. And then just having professors who pushed you.

Um, but also they treated us like family. It's, it's a small. School, small campus with a lot of history. Right? Um, but if you was missing, they was, they was trying to come find you to say, excuse me, why weren't you in class today? Right. So because it's such a, a small knit community, it's truly a family. And so, um, at Tuskegee.

It's a family, but that's family for life. Like I can probably go anywhere in the world and if somebody's from Tuskegee there, I know that I'm not alone wherever I go in this world because I know there's potentially a graduate there. And then we can hook up and link up. Like we, we haven't seen each other, we could've probably never seen each other in 10 years, but link up like we just saw each other yesterday.

And that's one of those things that um, I appreciate from going there.

Nathan James:
No kidding. I mean, I'll bet you that there was a belief factor too. A belief from your instructors, professors, and one another. Right. Similar to what you had in high school. Hey, I see something in you.

Merissa Blackwell:
Mm-hmm.

Nathan James:
And that helps you believe that you can get it done too, right?

Merissa Blackwell:
Absolutely.

Nathan James:
Oh, that's good. And I, Hmm. You know, another thing when I look at your story is that education. It doesn't seem to be a me story. I think it can be easy for us to think that when it comes to college, when it comes to universities, when it comes to anything. I'm on my path. I'm gonna study for myself.

I'm gonna accomplish my goal, my dream. But for you, it doesn't seem as much of, it's always as if it's been a me thing. It's been a we thing, and whether it be your family at your school, right, in terms of your, your students, fellow students, or with your own family, right? Mm-hmm. Um, I think it's always been a learning journey for your own family too.

Could you talk a little bit. About even with your own family, your husband, Rob, who's been on with us before, I think you inspired him right to some degree to go get his degree. And also now you're inspiring your daughter. So how does that work? How has your educational journey been contagious to your family?

Merissa Blackwell:
So I'll just say I started all of this, so let's just put that out there and lemme clap for you. This man

Nathan James:
respect.

Merissa Blackwell:
So I'll say when I met Rob, um, I was already in my degree program or had just started, so, um. You know, when I graduated college I said, well, I wanna continue my education. I just don't know how, where, when I'm working a full-time job and I'm in the reserves, how do I find the time to bake this in?

Um, and you know, and then researching the different types of schools, trying to figure out, okay, who's military friendly, who's not? Um, you know, cost is a thing, of course, right? And so looking at all of those factors and then just knowing people who had gone, uh, to U of GC and having those conversations with them just to say, how was your experience?

You know, how is it working for you? Or, they were already done, just tell me how you know it's benefited you, you know, in your career and in your personal life. And so. Hearing those stories and hearing the success stories, um, from those folks just made me lean a little bit more, uh, towards U-M-G-G-C. And then when I started to look at the degree programs, I said, oh, well.

I could just continue with what I already started at Tuskegee with my minor in business administration. So I said I'll just go ahead and get a Master's in Business Administration. Again, thought processes, you know, whatever I'm learning in this program, I could directly relate that to whatever I was doing, you know, in my job.

Or in the reserves or just in your personal life because you get a lot of different, um, experiences through that program. And then really learning how to ingest it, understand it, and then if you don't understand something, having. Those professors there that are willing to answer your calls at any, at any point, I think is, is one of the things that I appreciated the most.

Um, but for Rob, he was, um, looking at a particular position. He was in my mind, already overqualified for it, but he was only missing one thing. Uhhuh, he was missing the degree. The degree, yep. And I said, I kept saying. You're frustrated and I understand your frustration, but if you wanna continue to excel and you know, get in some of those management positions that you're looking at and they keep telling you no, they're not telling you why they're telling you no, but I could tell you from experience that they're probably telling you no because you don't have a degree to back up.

You know your experience, even though you're experienced, you got all the certifications, they're just looking for that piece of paper that says you have a degree. Um, and so after a lot of convincing, I said, you really do need to do some research. I said, start with UMGC first. 'cause you kind of already know the flow of the program.

Just based off of my experience. Um, during my Master's, 'cause we were together for the most part the entire time I was doing that Master's. And then we had our daughter, um, right at the end of it. So like, uh, yeah. So trying to balance all that was tricky, but it worked itself out. Right? And so for him it was looking at what bachelor's programs match.

Kind of close to what he was doing, so it wouldn't be too much of a lift, right? He already had a lot of industry certification, so that already counted for credit. So it was just a matter at that point of, okay, what makes sense? Um, it, he had been outta school for a minute, right? So trying to go back and do like an English class and math class.

He was like, I'm not really feeling this, but I was like, you gotta do it. And I said, the only reason why is you're going to be stuck and you're gonna be in a rut if you do not, um, push yourself and get this degree. Uh, because it will open so many more doors for you than you think, even though you might think it's a piece of paper.

Yeah. But that piece of paper matters. And look where he is now. He has his all company, so just, you know, a little nudge. Mm-hmm. You know, being encouraging, being there to help, you know, with homework assignments if needed, be like, Hey, I don't get this. Do you remember how to do this? Yeah. Sometimes I'd be like, Hmm, I don't know.

But we'll figure out, um, we, lemme be honest, figure this out together. Uhhuh group project, but yeah. Yes. So that's how we, that's how we got through it.

Nathan James:
But you gotta love a good group project. When you, lets,

Merissa Blackwell:
I'm not really a fan of group projects, uh, but you know, whatever you gotta do to graduate, that's what we doing.

Nathan James:
Well, I mean, already I'm seeing this leadership element in you just by example, right? I mean, yes. Again, I'm going back to what you're being told by, you know, your high school teachers, right? They see this leadership gift in you and now. You see it displaying its way now in, uh, leading by example and, and inspiring Rob, you know what I mean?

To get his degree and now look at him taking off and earning his business or, uh, starting his business and, um, wow. So now you're pursuing your MBA right through, I mean, at that, at this point in time, you're pursuing MBA at t ºÚÁÏÉçÇø and talk a little bit about how you feel that what you were learning help bring your.

Leadership, gifting and talent to the surface helped, uh, hone it and develop it.

Merissa Blackwell:
So I think the biggest piece, especially in the MBA program, there's a lot of group projects, right? And so I think having those group projects, even though, you know, I'm a leader and you know, if I need to lead, I will lead when I need to follow.

I will certainly absolutely do that. Uh, but when it comes to group projects and everybody is on a totally different time zone. It can get complicated, right? Mm-hmm. And so for us, I, I remember in one class, uh, we had a group project, but one of our class members was in Africa. Some of us was on the east coast, some of us was on the West Coast.

So trying to find that happy medium. Of how do we accomplish this? Now, mind you, all of this is before Zooms teams, none of that. So a lot of what we were doing was a lot of email back and forth. Um, of course there were, you know, platforms, then you could still log on and kind of do what we're doing right now.

But nothing like what we have available to us today. Right. Um, and so trying to find the time to sync, but also trying to find the time of, okay, who's gonna do what, right? And then how are we gonna bring all of that together? Because those group projects we're not, you know, just short little things. They were pretty extensive.

And so just really trying to figure out. Okay, how do we bring it all together and making sure that we're meeting what's in the syllabus? Yeah, it could be complicated, but you do what you gotta do and you step up and say, okay, well somebody's falling short in this area and I'm already done. How can I help you?

Let me help you kind of finish your part so we can bring it all together. Right. So it's not just. Hey lead, throw it out there. You just watch everybody else. You gotta, you gotta do your part too. And so if I'm already done, then I'm gonna say, Hey, how can I help you with yours? And therefore, our team member that was in Africa, because the time just never worked out.

It was just a lot of emails to say, Hey, are you good? Just checking in, not even worrying about the assignment. Are you okay?

Nathan James:
Yeah.

Merissa Blackwell:
If you're not, just let us know and we'll figure out how to make sure, uh, your part of this gets accomplished so we can finish as a team, right? Um, there's no I in team, there's a me in there, but there's definitely not an eye, right?

And so in order for us to accomplish the goal. Everybody had to step up and, and do a little more just to make sure that we met the, the goal of the assignment and to get it, edit it and all of that revision after revision, after revision. So like you have to purposely, you know, have a mindset of, yes, I'm a leader, but I'm not gonna, all my, my style of leadership is I'm not gonna ask you to do something that I wouldn't do myself.

I. And so I'm not just gonna leave you hanging. Oh yeah, I'm done with my part. So I'm just gonna see her and watch and wait to see what happens. And then we figure out, okay, we're down to the wire. And then you gotta figure out, oh my gosh, this assignment's still in 24 hours and this person's part's not done.

But if you had been checking in the entire time. And, you know, see where the gaps are. Then we came together as a team to say, okay, well here are the gaps and here's who's going to do what. And I think that is the beauty of, you know, now with technology as advanced as it is. Um, you have the, the, the Google pages where you can edit.

Everybody could be doing things at the same time, editing a paper or something like that. A lot of that, back then it was just emailing back and forth. Here we are, here we are here. This is version 12, right? So just to kind of see. How far technology has come. Um, and just being, you know, of the mindset, we just gotta get it done and we're gonna do whatever it takes to get it done.

Nathan James:
I mean, collaboration, right? Yes. Uh, collaboration was critical and being able to orchestrate that so that this is a, a we thing, right? This is something that we are coming together as a project, making sure that inclusive leadership right, is what you're doing. Okay? Okay. So, uh, wonderful. Now obviously.

You're a Lieutenant colonel, right? Army Reserves, 17 years in. Um, what does it look like to use your leadership qualities there?

Merissa Blackwell:
Uh, so it's unique, right? So I, everybody knows from the commercials that, oh, the reserve is just, you know, one weekend, a month, two weeks out of the year, not the case, right? Um, and I think that's, that's the story that a lot of people kind of go with.

But when you're in leadership. That's 24 7. That never turns off. Right. Especially if you have a group of soldiers that you're leading. Regardless of if we're on duty or not on duty, we're still responsible for those individuals. So, like, you know, for me, although yes, it's, it's part-time as we would say, it is never really part-time because when I leave work, I'm checking my email to make sure, okay.

Did something get accomplished? Or was I supposed to do something and did I drop the ball? Or I still have to write people's evaluations and oh, by the way, I have to do mine too, right? So don't, I think a lot of people get caught up with, oh, you guys don't do a lot. It's a lot. And you know, that's time away from your family.

All those weekends that you're not home, um, when you're doing your two to three weeks, two weeks is minimum. Um, and some units you're doing like a full 30 days of your in whatever training or you're gone to whatever exercise that's still time away from your family. Right. Um, and so I think a lot of people don't see that.

You don't see the extra that you're doing on top of your regular day job. Right. And so it's a matter of how do you balance all of that and when do you say, okay, these are the days I'm going to log in and make sure, you know. Everybody's done what they were supposed to do. If there's a meeting, 'cause those still happen, right?

So the, there are meetings that happen and so you just, you just really have to be of the mindset that I'm always a leader 24 7, regardless of if my uniform is on or not. I'm still a leader, and so I have to make sure that people who are under my leadership, they're taken care of, they're getting paid. We still have to deal with the normal things, right?

Making sure that they go and get the minimal thing, a flu shot. I. Right, so like you are literally making sure that people are, um, doing what they're supposed to be doing. And so if I'm not leading by example to say I'm out here passing my PT test and I'm out here doing my medical, all the things you have to do to be a deployable soldier, then I can't expect them to do it if I'm not doing it.

If I'm not meeting the standard, then they're gonna be like, well, she not meeting the standard, so I don't have to do that. And so that, that has always been something for me where I'm always leading by example, because somebody's always watching, right? Regardless of what you think, people are always watching you.

And so they also wanna see how you respond. To certain things and it's a lot going on right now, but it's how you respond and how do you lead in this moment is what, um, matters to me at least. Almost.

Nathan James:
I remember you saying earlier, just now, you were at one point the shy sort of. Young lady in the corner.

Right. And here you are now, right? As a lieutenant colonel, right. As a a logistics officer. Right. For the federal government exercising leadership in all of these ways, could you give some advice, uh, to our listeners and to our viewers Right. For anybody that can relate to that, the shyness. Um, how do you.

Get over the self-consciousness, get over your fears, fears, get over yourself to step out and lead and make an impact.

Merissa Blackwell:
Uh, so the shy person is still there. So my preference,

Nathan James:
How did you do it?

Merissa Blackwell:
My preference is I am a introvert all day, every day, right? So even though I'm doing this, I'm leading a team. All over the place at work. He, uh, in the reserve. I didn't know when I need my moment to decompress. Right. Because that's a lot for me.

Right. It may not seem like it 'cause Oh, she's on, how does she do that? Um, I don't know. I think it's, it's, um, at this point is like in my conscience, but it's not one of those things that's going to stop me. Um, it's just learning that, again, somebody's always watching me, so if I can be the example for somebody, then they can see that, oh, she's a shy person that sits in the corner.

She's not gonna say nothing. Because I'm very observant too, right? And so a lot of times I'm just filling the room out. I'm just trying to, okay, who in the room? Um, how do I need to navigate the room? Do I even say anything at all? Right? So there's a lot of things that's going on in my mind. Um. But I say my confidence comes because I know who I am and I know whose I am, and at the end of the day, um, I'm qualified to be in whatever room I step in.

So, um, just knowing that now, and that's not out of arrogance or anything like that, but it took a long. It took a long way and a long time for me to even get to this point where my confidence is when I step in a room, you ask me a question, I'm going to answer it. If I don't have the answer for you, I'll get back to you, but I've already done the work.

So at this point, you're just now asking me for my, my expertise and what I think about something. So, um, and I'm going to give you that, and I'm gonna always give you that at a hundred percent. But do know when I log off for the day and I get in my car, I'm exhausted. Um, and so, so you are human after all. And again, like I said, my preference is I am absolutely 100% introvert. And if you've done the Myers Briggs, I'm ISTJ for all those people who know. So you, that is how I actually really move. And so, and I used to always say, I don't wanna take these little silly tests, but. When you take those tests and then you see things, I'm like, oh, I do do that.

But it's, it also gives me, um. Uh, a footprint of how to move forward and how to navigate some of those things because there's pros and cons to all of those, right? But it's just a matter of how do you navigate and how do you look at yourself and say, and do some self-reflection and say, okay, I probably could've did better.

You know, in this meeting I talk with my face a lot, so sometimes I am literally like just trying to say, Marissa, don't make a face. Don't do this because somebody's gonna see you and they're going to interpret that in a certain way. Um, and people who have been on my teams, uh, they will tell you that, um, sometimes in meetings, especially if we're doing virtual meetings, they'll be like, Hey, fix your face.

And I'm like, appreciate it. 'cause, and sometimes people. Deserve the face, right? Because you've said something crazy and I'm like, where did you get that from? So sometimes people deserve that. However, Uhhuh, Uhhuh, uh, because I know that about myself and I've shared that with my teams as well. Like, Hey, if you see me making a face and you're sitting next to me or across from me, do something that says.

Stop doing that or something, right? Yeah. Yeah. Because again, perception is everything. And so, and sometimes I'm doing it unconsciously, and so sometimes I don't even realize I'm making a face. Um, you know, and it's not, it's not personal. It's just sometimes people just say things and you just be like. Okay.

Nathan James:
Hey, you're an expressive person. I'm an expressive person, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I hear you. I'm following that. Okay, well, now we may wrap up with this. Right. A forever learner, right? I'm looking at Marissa. Yes. A forever learner, right? So you've done a lot of learning up to this part, up to this time, two degrees, right?

Uh, you've learned your way, you know, to, to this lieutenant colonel, you know, position. Uh, and something tells me you're not stopping here, right? We're not just coasting from here on out. So, so, so what does forever learning look like for you moving forward? Right? What are your dreams moving forward?

Merissa Blackwell:
So I will say that at least for me, so even though I have the two degrees, I also have, um, my, I would say army degrees, right?

Uh, from the command staff in general College. Um, so those are two separate, I would say diploma slash degrees where you really kind of learn. You know, more about how we function, uh, as an army and how we move divisions and how we do these types of things, right. Uh, from a leadership perspective. But of course that's, that doesn't stop, um, you know, continuous learning.

And hopefully in the future I'm looking to attend the war college, um, at some point, uh, probably in the next two to three years. And so again, that will be another degree. And then just really just staying. Um, I would say fresh. Uh, I think our daughter, Alyssa, keeps us fresh with school, right? She's in sixth grade and sometimes she'll come ask us and be like, Hey, do you remember how to do this?

And I'm like, gimme a minute. Um, because they teach them very differently now how to do certain things and I'm, I'm sitting up here doing it a certain way. I've. And she like, that's the old school way. And I said, well, that's the way I know, and that's the way I remember Uhhuh. So, so if it helps you, then obviously it worked, it worked for me.

So I'm trying see where I am to help you out. Right. So just, you know, uh, staying engaged with her and involved in, uh, just the, the homework and things that she has, and I'm just like, man. Did we do this when I was in middle school? Thank you. Middle school teachers. Um, but just really, you know, staying up to date with those types of things.

And then just, you know, staying fresh through reading and, you know, just whatever comes across my way. Um. I recently finished a, an executive coaching program, and so that's another way of expanding beyond mentorship and just really focusing in a, a very different area to help people, right. Um, kind of hone in on certain things.

And so just continuing that expertise and, and looking to get the, uh, the International Co Coaching Federation, um, certification out of that. And so that'll be something I'll be doing as well moving forward. I just have this image in my mind of, uh, just a train. Just a powerful train moving along the tracks, right?

Nathan James:
Unstoppable. And, uh, that's you, Marissa. That's you. Thank you. Thank you for the spending the time with us today for sharing your story. Uh, I'm looking forward to, um, hearing the stories of who this inspires. Um, I know you know, for our listeners and our viewers, thank you for listening. Be inspired. Take these with you, take this with you.

Um, uh, and again, Marissa, thank you. And look, everybody, uh, if you wanna see more unstoppable stories, remember to like, remember to subscribe and, uh, we'll be back. We'll be back for more for now though. We'll see you next time. Okay.