Taking a leading role.

Why did Eleasha join the Navy Reserve? “I was looking for a change. I wanted to give back to my country, and I really, really love to travel.”

A neonatal nurse in civilian life, Eleasha says that she generally performs the same duties in the Navy Reserve. “The kind of work that I do isn’t that much of a change,” she says. “The big change was joining the military. Even though I have a lot of friends and family in the military, I myself had no prior military background.”

When asked to compare and contrast her civilian and military work experiences, Eleasha didn’t search long for an answer. “It’s the leadership and teamwork. In the Navy Reserve, there’s a conscious effort put forth for teaching and learning leadership skills. I don’t really get this in my civilian job. Whether it’s a class aimed specifically at developing these skills or just a superior Officer taking extra time to work with you and counsel you, this is one aspect I really like about being in the military.”

The other aspect is the teamwork. “In the Navy Reserve, everybody seems to work together more as a group and as a team,” Eleasha says. “It’s hard to describe, but in the military, things are just structured so that everybody is working together to get the job done, no matter what that job might be. Whereas in the civilian sector, it often seems like this person is independently doing this thing and that person is doing that thing — it’s just not as cohesive as it is in the military.”

Exploring the topic further, a third aspect arises — one of respect. “I’m a Lieutenant in the Navy Reserve, so there’s a certain amount of respect that goes with being an Officer. But it goes beyond that. In the military, I have more autonomy and control over my work, and people, regardless of their rank or standing in the hospital, seem to listen to each other and exchange ideas more often.”

As to her specific role as a neonatal nurse, whether it’s in the civilian world or in the military, Eleasha says she loves her job. “There’s nothing more gratifying than seeing these little babies born that might not survive and then because of what you know and what you do, you see that they not only survive, they thrive — well, that’s a great feeling.”

Eleasha continued to explain how her association with the Navy Reserve makes her a better nurse overall. “In addition to all the leadership skills that I have gained, there’s also the extra training and a lot of exposure to new technologies and procedures. These are all things that I wouldn’t have normally experienced if I wasn’t in the Reserve.”

In the future, Eleasha plans to receive more training by exercising her educational benefits provided by the Navy Reserve. She also looks forward to traveling to many new and exciting places. “So far I’ve been to Hawaii, California and Florida,” she says.

Away from work, Eleasha likes to spend time with her two children, Brianna, 8, and Tyrique, 6. “There’s another added benefit that I enjoy as a nurse in the Reserve,” Eleasha points out. “I get to do what is called ‘flextime,’ meaning that I can often serve during the week and not on weekends. This allows me to spend a lot more time with my kids.”

Eleasha lives in the Southern United States.