By Shannon Collins DoD News Features, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, September 21, 2015 — Education and mentorship
helped a young Hispanic girl who dreamed of going to the U.S. Air Force Academy
not only achieve her dreams, but earn the rank of major general and the
position of deputy A2, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance for Air
Force Headquarters at the Pentagon.
In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs
from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, Air Force Maj. Gen. Linda Urrutia-Varhall shares her
lessons learned at the U.S. Air Force Academy, at luncheons and at other
events, hoping to pay it forward to junior enlisted and officers, especially
those in the Hispanic community.
Role Models
Growing up in Pueblo, Colorado, Urrutia-Varhall said her
biggest role models were her parents.
“My mom was a stay-at-home mom, and my father worked at the
Pepsi Cola plant,” she said. “My dad, I’m proud to say, came in as a janitor
and by the time he retired in 39 years, he was running the plant in Pueblo.”
She said she got her work ethic from her hard-working
parents, adding that her mother is the smartest person she knows. Her relatives
didn’t really leave Pueblo but she wanted more. When she was 13 in 1974, she
and her uncle went to visit the academy.
“I told my uncle, even though there were no women there, I
would graduate from there,” she said. “He said, ‘Oh hija [little one], I know
you say that, but they don’t let women in here.’ Little did I know I would
graduate from there in 1984.”
She said her parents told her she could be anything she
wanted to be. Her other role model was Lt. Gen. Norma Brown, the first woman to
command an Air Force wing in 1974.
Culture and Education
Urrutia-Varhall said her ancestors came up from Mexico after
arriving from the Basque region of Spain, settling in Colorado for a generation
as pickers at a farm and then working long hours at the steel mill in Pueblo.
She said the Air Force was an easy transition for her because the Spanish
culture is all about family, and she gets that feeling with the military. The
biggest challenge in the military is obtaining the balance of family and
career, she said.
“I’ve been blessed to have met a great man who said he would
follow me wherever I went and support me and my career,” Urrutia-Varhall said.
The general encourages all Hispanics, as well as all
children of all ethnicities, to stay in school and get their education.
“You’ve got to stay in school to at least have a chance at
becoming an enlisted or an officer in the military and doing great things,” she
said. “Get your secondary education. Some way, you’ll make it. Whether you work
a job, your mom and dad work, whether you get scholarships or grants, somehow,
if you want to go to school bad enough, you can get there, and then all you
need is somebody to open the door just once. And for each of us that is in some
way successful or helpful, help that one person, just get one person’s foot in
the door and pay it forward.”
Advice, Mentorship
The general said she wouldn’t be in the position she’s in
today if it hadn’t been for mentors such as her parents, third grade teacher,
air officer commander or husband.
To junior service members and civilians working their way
toward leadership positions, she offered this advice: “You never know who
you’ll meet, where you’ll get to go or what you’ll get to do or see,”
Urrutia-Varhall said. “It really helped expand my horizons. Also, if you’re an
officer or senior enlisted, always look people in the eye and ask them how
they’re doing. Have empathy and don’t become a non-person.”
Finally, she said, “You belong in every room; learn to be
comfortable in any room you walk in. You belong because of your hard work and
everything you do. You belong there just as much as anybody else. And you can
be whatever you want to be. The only one holding you back is you.”
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