The Realities of Military Spouse Unemployment: Debt
January 9, 2023
Military spouse unemployment is a prevalent issue that can negatively impact the home life and mission readiness of service members. The current military spouse unemployment rate is 24%, 6x the rate of civilians. This is due in part to problems with child care such as high military daycare costs…...
Military Spouses: How to Make & Keep Your New Year's Resolution
January 4, 2023
It’s that time of year again when everyone seems to be making plans and setting goals on how they want to improve in the coming year. Military spouses are no exception to this annual mass self-improvement craze, but we often struggle to keep up with goals due to the…...
Operation Holiday Joy Delivers Magic to Military Families!
December 28, 2022
The holiday season is known for bringing both joy and stress. As a long-time military family, we know that the holidays affect families of active-duty service members differently. Military life brings unique challenges, which include not always being able to choose how or where we can celebrate the holidays. Financial…...
Though I come from a background of family members who serve, I can’t say that I ever had the thought or desire to follow in their footsteps. When I was a junior in high school, I felt lost in what I wanted out of life, let alone professionally. My…...
6 Ways to Help Support the ASYMCA this Holiday Season
November 28, 2022
For military families, the holidays can be a difficult time, especially when separated due to deployment. This holiday season, take time to appreciate and honor our service members and their families by giving back. Your donation to the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA), a non-profit association of the YMCA and…...
Deployment During the Holidays: How to Keep Kids Connected
November 22, 2022
Deployment during the holidays can be really difficult for any military family, but especially if you have kids. Children often struggle to feel the holiday spirit when a parent or loved one is away. Here are 3 simple ways to help kids feel more connected with your service member…...
Fighting Military Food Insecurity This Holiday Season
November 17, 2022
With the holidays quickly approaching, many families are worried about the rising cost of food. Not being able to adequately feed your family is frustrating, stressful, and sometimes scary. The Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) reports that nearly 40% of military families have faced food insecurity since the pandemic. Due…...
My Career Journey: The Ups, Downs, and Military Life’s Role
November 17, 2022
I’ve always loved education. I’m constantly striving to learn, with a deep desire to understand our world. As a child, I looked forward to school starting again each year after the long summer break and soaked up every experience in college. I loved education so much that I even…...
The Realities of Military Spouse Unemployment: Lack of Child care
November 14, 2022
Military spouse unemployment is a prevalent issue that can negatively impact the home life and mission readiness of service members. So, why is military spouse unemployment still an issue that over 20% of military spouses1 experience? When asked, most military spouses attribute the answer to: lack of child care.…...
Joining the military is a task of honor and sacrifice but military life is unique and challenging. Often, the weight of the duties fall on the families of soldiers. Whether it’s long duty hours or a year-long deployment, the family must support itself without the presence of their soldier.…...
When Maya accepted her placement in the Early Childhood Education Fellowship, she thought she was simply stepping into a professional development program. What she didn’t realize yet was that she was beginning a transformative journey—one that would shape not only her career, building portable skills and opening doors to new opportunities, but also the lives of countless young children and families.
On her first day, Maya entered a brightly lit child development center filled with small tables, colorful books, and the joyful hum of children discovering the world. But the fellowship quickly proved to be more than classroom exposure. It was a structured, immersive experience that combined hands-on teaching, mentorship, coursework, and leadership development.
Each week, Maya worked side-by-side with a lead teacher who guided her through the complexities of child development, how to recognize emerging language skills, how to support emotional regulation, and how to design learning experiences that spark curiosity. In the afternoons, she experienced and explored topics with her cohort like equity in early childhood education, trauma-informed teaching, and family engagement. These experiences didn’t just build knowledge — they challenged assumptions and inspired purpose.
Midway through the fellowship, Maya began to see the impact of her growth. She noticed how a child who once struggled to communicate now eagerly shared stories, or how a small adjustment in her teaching approach created a more inclusive environment for a child with sensory needs. These were not just successes; they were life-changing moments.
Equally powerful was the community. The fellowship created a network of passionate peers who shared ideas, challenges, and encouragement. Through collaborative projects and reflective discussions, Maya developed both confidence and a sense of belonging in the profession.
By the end of the program, Maya had not only developed and refined her teaching practice but also discovered her voice as an advocate for early childhood education. She left the fellowship ready to contribute to systemic improvements in the field.
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