AWTR Show #915: Geek Pack

Giveaway alert! This podcast just got even better. One lucky listener is going to get the chance to win a t-shirt from Geek Pack. For a chance to win, simply comment on any social media post sharing this podcast. We will randomly choose a winner one week from when this podcast airs.

As we all know, keeping a career path as a military spouse can be very difficult. After realizing coding might be easier than she thought, Julia Taylor set out on a mission. She started Geek Pack to create a community to empower others to have the confidence to do things they didn’t think they could.

Julia learned to code by herself and often felt unwelcome in other coding communities. That was all the push she needed to create a welcoming community set on uplifting others and helping them to achieve their goals. A place where mean people are not allowed and there are no stupid questions. A community to empower women to be more comfortable with digital skills.

Julia Taylor is a self-taught web-developer and online business owner who founded GeekPack® in October 2018. She is passionate about empowering women and girls everywhere to create better lives for themselves by teaching them how to code and subsequently manage their own businesses in the digital realm. Since its founding, she has empowered over 3,000 women with the tangible, in-demand coding skills needed to live life on their own terms as virtual business owners.

Listeners, if you would like to learn more about Geek Pack, check out their website here or connect with them on social media via Facebook or Instagram. If you happen to know a WW2 veteran, please reach out. Also, if you are interested in learning to code, check out their free 4 day coding challenge here.

Resource Recon with KateLynn and Annie

this week’s Resource Recon, brought to you from our ever-empowering, Band of Bloggers! We are spotlighting an article from Susan Malandrino with the American Red Cross entitled: OCONUS military Spouses Build Community. Susan writes:

After you PCS, do you ever arrive at a new location and feel completely lost? In my time as a military spouse, this feeling was further exacerbated during our OCONUS tours. When we moved to Japan, my twins were three, my spouse was immediately gone off on deployment, where he remained for most of the tour. I couldn’t figure out the language, let alone the basics of this new life we had been thrown into a million miles from the comforts of home. 

I recently met two Air Force spouses who not only shared similar experiences but were actively working to help other military families in that same situation. 

She goes on to mention these two spouses, Jennifer and Victoria, and how their time volunteering with the American Red Cross OCONUS has helped them to bridge the gap of potential isolation from being stationed in a foreign country. 

Empowerment Patrol Report with Amanda B.

Today we are showcasing Army Wife Network’s Everyday Empowerment recipient, Shantel Perez, who I personally chose to nominate her for this since she is absolutely inspiring and empowering to myself and other military families and spouses.

The month of August marks 9 years of being an Army Spouse for Shantel. Here is a little bit about her milspouse journey:  Before being a military spouse, I was Active Duty Army myself. My husband, Daniel Perez, and I are high school sweethearts. We did future soldier training together and then eventually joined the Army together. In the beginning of our marriage my husband was infantry and was never home. Constant training, the long days that turned into nights was SO hard. We knew eventually we wanted to have kids and so my husband reclassed to being signal. Through that there were a lot more date nights, family time and all around happiness. And then, after 4 1/2 years of being a stay at home mom and fully supporting my husband’s career, I felt like I lost my identity. I wanted more.. I needed more. I needed something that was going to work for me and my schedule as well as being a mom & wife. I took a leap of faith and started in real estate. Now here I am, just ending my first year of real estate with 39 families served, being nominated for Huntsville, Alabama’s BEST realtor, receiving rookie of the year, top producing agent multiple times throughout the year, and getting my MRP Military relocation professional title. Being a Veteran and military spouse and knowing how hard it can be to get an “offer accepted” because of being a VA loan, I made it a priority to make sure that I educated myself and took all additional classes to serve my VA clients and to give them a chance in this challenging market. Being a military spouse is challenging, but also so rewarding. I also get the question “How do you do it?” and immediately I think of so many answers… The military lifestyle is amazing. It has provided our family with income stability, healthy benefits & the constant surprise of “Where to next?” Again, it’s hard but when you get to your new duty station you find your tribe and you grow. Military spouses lean on each other, they create forever bonds, and we keep eachother strong. I am so grateful for this opportunity and to even be considered. I wouldn’t change being a military spouse for anything. I’m proud of my husband and the constant growth he is having in his career.

If you’re in the Huntsville region of Alabama, and looking for a realtor to help you find your dream home with the understanding of the military life, definitely reach out to Shantel Perez! If you’d like to touch base with her via email, hers is shantel@whoopitsperez.com

Thank you again, Shantel, for doing your part to empower military families around the world.

News 6 with Jolene

Here is this week’s News 6 mashup of stories for the week of August 1st, 2022, straight from AWN News 6 Correspondent, Jolene McNutt:

USAFRICOM Names Top Three Challenges

China, Russia and terrorism are the top three challenges for U.S. Africa Command, reported the Department of Defense“China is acting in a very whole-of-government way, leading with development and economic measures on the continent,” said Army Gen. Stephen J. Townsend. “They are proceeding … to increase their access and influence on the continent, and they have a desire … to establish more military bases on the continent.”

Joint Typhoon Warning Center Forecasts For Safety

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center, JTWC, helps with forecasting for the Navy’s third, fifth and seventh fleet areas of responsibility, reported Tom Temin in his podcast, Federal Drive at Federal News Network. They go beyond weather forecasting, which they can model up to two weeks in advance, to help redirect ships away from potential bad weather and to help people on land have time to prepare. She also explained the difference between a hurricane, cyclone and typhoon.

D-Day Pilot Turns 102

D-Day pilot, Harry Gamper, turned 102 on July 20th and he celebrated with a bang! Gamper “served as an Royal Air Force pilot in WWII and won medals for his service in France and Germany,” shared Good News Network. He few over 1,000 hours while serving in the RAF. Gamper had an Italian-themed birthday party to honor his late wife who loved vacationing in Italy. 

You can check out more of this week’s top stories here.

Thank You

Thank you for tuning into this week’s episode. Please leave a five-star rating and review on Apple podcasts, then send us a screenshot of your review to info@armywifenetwork.com or DM us on Facebook or Instagram @armywifenetwork to receive a special in-real-life gift as a thank you on behalf of AWN. We appreciate your engagement and support.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.