“It feels good to know I’m supporting an important mission. I’ve been impressed by the part the USPTO plays in supporting inventors.”
After more than 20 years of Army life—active duty, National Guard, spouse, and civil servant – Jennifer found a new career home at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Dedication to education through time in uniform
This Ohio native originally planned on serving four years in the Army before returning home for college. Instead, her enlistment vastly impacted her career and education plans. Jennifer served on active duty as a record telecommunications operator for six years, taking classes toward her associates degree during assignments in Camp Humphreys, Korea; Fort Huachuca, Arizona.; and Fort Knox, Kentucky. She didn’t degree plan prior to beginning coursework, so it took her “six years to complete a two-year degree.”
After active duty, Jennifer enrolled at the University of Louisville as a full-time student, working at a community correction center for formerly incarcerated individuals who were transitioning back into the community. Concurrently, she joined the Kentucky National Guard, saying, “I enjoyed my military time, and figured that being a part-time soldier would be easier than active duty. I chose the 223rd Military Police Co because I wanted to ‘do something different’ than working in an office. Little did I know how much I would end up not sitting behind a desk at all.”
After deployments to Bosnia and Iraq, her final assignment was conducting drill weekends for high schoolers heading to basic training. Due to her deployment schedule, it took Jennifer another six years to finish her bachelor's degree in justice administration.
“I thought I was going to become a federal probation and parole officer, as I was most interested in supervising those who were returning to society to hopefully help them make changes to be successful upon their incarceration release. However, that plan changed when I married an active-duty soldier,” she says.
Military spouse life
Although it’s not the case for everyone, for Jennifer, “becoming a military spouse essentially put my career on hold for some time. The service member absolutely has to put the military first. That leaves the spouse to put the family first. Adding in a career takes almost superpowers to pull off and requires some sort of support network.” Jennifer focused on raising her children through three subsequent spousal deployments that entailed moves to Georgia, New York, and Hawaii.
Reentering the workforce
Following their final move to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, Jennifer decided to return to paid employment, targeting federal jobs so she could buy back her military time.
Jennifer advises fellow veterans and military spouses interested in civil service to not sell themselves short.
“Apply for everything you are qualified for. And apply for things at a higher level than you think you might qualify for. I actually had more responses when I started applying for GS-9 positions versus GS-5 positions,” she notes. She also encourages military spouses to pursue all possible pipelines for positions. With a large career gap on her resume, it wasn’t until she enrolled in the Military Spouse Preference Program that she was able to secure a position. She credits the program with getting her resume in front of hiring managers.
Jennifer accepted a role as an executive assistant at the Army Audit Agency. Her new supervisor told her she had “absolutely sold her in the interview on how military experience translated into the role.”
Some of those skills, says Jennifer, include “working with team members with different skill sets, problem solving, and expecting a plan to change.” She adds that military members know how to “expect and navigate chaos.” As an executive assistant, she does a lot of “organizing chaos.”
“By nature, I’m a planner—organization makes me happy at home and at work. When major calendar changes come down due to competing priorities, I love finding the solution.”
Joining America's Innovation Agency
After spending her entire career supporting the Army, a position as an executive assistant to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property (IP) and Director of the USPTO caught Jennifer’s eye on USAJOBS.gov. The increase in pace and responsibilities that would come with working for a political appointee at a larger agency appealed to her.
After she was selected for the position, Jennifer immediately began organizing the director’s workday and meeting new people across the agency. Since the USPTO drives American innovation by granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks, Jennifer says it feels good to know she’s still “supporting an important mission.”
“I’ve been impressed by the part the USPTO plays in supporting inventors.”
The people are her favorite part of the job, especially the team that supports the director’s busy meeting and event schedule. She also joined the active USPTO Military Association, which has almost 300 members.
“I’m a very social person, so meeting many people across the agency is a bonus,” she says, adding that as she improves processes and solve problems in her role, she sees how her career is moving to the next level.