“I thought, ‘Well there’s always the military’ and literally walked in the pouring rain from my apartment in Bay Ridge to the nearest Navy recruiting headquarters one day. When I got there, the recruiters all stood up to greet me, were so supportive and made me feel so valued as they described the meaningful opportunities that would await me. From that moment on, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

About six years later, the Sayville, Long Island native had completed basic training in Great Lakes, Illinois; Military Police technical training in San Antonio, Texas; and a five-year stint at the Bremerton Naval Base in Washington State. For her first three years at Bremerton, Jane served as a squad leader with Marine Corps Security Force Battalion Bangor, where she protected National Strategic Assets, denying unauthorized access to nuclear weapons. Jane served her remaining two years of active service at Naval Base Kitsap, supervising Naval Security Force personnel in all facets of law enforcement, antiterrorism and force protection onboard the Navy’s third largest installation in the United States.

“There was never a day when you had to wonder if what you were doing was important,” she says.

When her five-year assignment was over, Jane decided to make another life change: move back to her hometown of Long Island to continue her career and establish family roots, like she enjoyed growing up, for her now six-year-old daughter. Jane enrolled at Stony Brook University – close to her hometown, and alma mater for her mother, brother and sister’s fiancee – to get her MSW while working in the Naval Reserves (as she continues to do now).

While pursuing her degree, she also interned in SBU’s Military & Veteran Student Services office, which was key to her current role and “incredibly serendipitous,” says Jane. “I was developing programs that I’m so happy exist and thrive today, including veterans support and mentorship programs and SBU’s participation in the SALUTE Veterans National Honor Society.”

When she heard through her leader in Military & Veteran Student Services, Pamela Pfeil, about the job opening in that area about three years later, that was another really easy decision. “I never stopped thinking about the student veterans and couldn’t wait to have the opportunity to support them again. And I feel equipped and energized to move these programs and services forward and help the organization build on them and grow.

“There’s a real sense of community here at Stony Brook and among student veterans and it’s so rewarding to work in this area. I understand the military culture. I’ve lived it and the students know I have the experience and insight to understand their situations. I want them to know, too, that I am much more interested in their experiences than mine.”

For herself and her career, she happily claims, ”Things just align sometimes and all the things you do, and all the seeds you plant, come together to put you where you belong. And for me that’s Stony Brook.”