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Before her military service, Santeeja Thomas was a working Nurse in her home country of Fiji who had to leave the Nursing profession behind to immigrate to the US to support her struggling family. Unable to utilize her foreign degree, she took her expertise and professionalism to the US Navy where she had faithfully served for 9 years (E-5) as an Operational Specialist. As a true testament to her resilience and perseverance, Sanjeeta who a single mother and primary provider for a household of 5 separated from active duty service amid the pandemic in early 2020.
“It was a difficult and challenging time for me, dealing with my involuntary medical separation from the Navy and then facing unemployment as a single mother and primary provider for my family during a pandemic was terrifying,” she said. “But with the assistance and support from the Us4Warriors Foundation, my family made it through the first year of the pandemic and we are now in a good place.”
Us4Warriors and our Work4Warriors Program Representative, Al Lejarde, supported Sanjeeta with Peer-to-Peer Support, guidance on obtaining her DD-214 during the early shutdown, navigating the unemployment insurance backlog, resume support, referrals to additional community resources, and opportunity! She is now working as an Admin Assistant with the Us4Warriors Foundation and has not stopped there, she also has been accepted into and is currently working on completing the Registered Dental Assistant Program at PIMA Medical Institute where she is expected to graduate from later this year in 2021.
