From Aeronautics to Counseling: My Purpose Beyond the Uniform

When I transitioned into the civilian world newly sober, I thought my next mission was to keep soaring as high as the naval fighter jets I admired. As a personal and professional amends, I chose to pursue a Bachelor’s in Professional Aeronautics with the notable Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. It was a degree that matched the precision and structure the military instilled in me. As I continued in my sobriety, I discovered another calling—one that had less to do with planes and more to do with people, less about flight and more about faith.

Why Aeronautics?

Due to my addiction, I had an abrupt ending with the Navy. Without a doubt, Professional Aeronautics felt like the perfect choice and way to honor my military occupation as an air traffic controller. It offered a pathway to stability, and the degree represented the discipline and the drive I carried into civilian life after serving in the military.

However (comma), behind this achievement was a woman three years sober, still learning how to trust herself. My standard of success at the time entailed titles, prestige, and salary. Through the years, I intentionally practiced self-forgiveness, introspection, acceptance, and asked God for guidance (even when the road was narrow). In turn, I was directed to follow a new sense of purpose.

Faith as My Foundation

First and foremost, I knew that the completion of a degree without sobriety was both impossible and impractical. 

I tried it, and didn’t follow through.

My renewed commitment to recovery gave me the mental clarity to stay focused, and the ability to keep striving towards my best—whatever that looked like at the time. As each day passed, my foundation of faith allowed me to believe I was capable of more … so much more. Sobriety taught me, and continues to teach me, how to show up consistently—not just in classrooms, but in life. Period.

If experience is the best teacher, then sobriety is her bestie. Ha!

It was in sobriety that I began to understand my education wasn’t just about attaining a sustainable career. It was about preparing me to bloom into the woman I dreamed of becoming.

The Call to Counseling

There were several times throughout the years that God whispered this calling to me. As I’m typing this, I’m realizing I either ignored the sometimes not-so-subtle hints or came up with excuses as to why I wasn’t “qualified” to take this path. While aviation taught me about systems, my spirit longed to connect with and serve people beyond a corporate setting. 

I felt the pull toward counseling through my own recovery, the courageous women who walked beside me, and through the selfless wisdom of my late sister in sobriety, Tracy, who became a Licensed Professional Counselor.

Her life and legacy planted a seed in me: to continue the work of helping others heal, but in a way that was uniquely my own. 

With that being said, counseling is clearly more than just another career shift for me.

Becoming a Counselor-in-Training

Now, as I step into grad school, I can confidently carry both my past and my purpose with me. My degree in aviation symbolizes the discipline and determination I’ve always had. On the other hand, my counseling journey represents the unwavering compassion and encouragement I’ve cultivated in sobriety.

Although I haven’t relayed flight plans for pilots for some time, I’m beyond ecstatic about learning new ways to guide Black women veterans in charting their own paths of recovery and purpose.

If you’ve ever wondered how to embrace your past with your purpose, I want you to know this: your journey can (and will) prepare you for your calling, even if it looks completely different from what you first imagined.

• Follow along with my journey as a counselor-in-training by subscribing to the elorasong blog.
• Stay rooted with the elorasong Healing Hub — a space where Black women veterans can heal in community.
• Join the Rooted Beyond the Uniform™ Waitlist — a 12-week signature program designed to help you reclaim, renew, and refine your life beyond the uniform. 

Your military experience, degree, sobriety, and your story? None of it is wasted. It all prepares you for the purpose you’re called to live out.

Until next time, ciao for now.

Elora