Rachel Bryen graduated from college, immediately became a grade-school teacher and just as quickly, knew she needed a change. A big change.

She joined the Navy. And instead of being in front of a class, she was part of one, learning about nuclear power systems. Within two years, she was steaming toward the Persian Gulf on board the USS Nimitz, one of the Navy’s largest, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

Today, a decade later, Rachel is an Oncor Distribution Systems Supervisor in Fort Worth. And she credits the Navy for helping get her there.

“I was at a stagnant point in my life,” she said. “I didn’t enjoy teaching and I wasn’t making much. I had never lived anywhere outside of Missouri. For me, the Navy checked all the boxes. I wanted to do something different.”

She certainly did. At the Navy’s nuclear power school in Charleston, S.C., Rachel trained to be an Electrician’s Mate. Assigned to the Nimitz in 2009, she worked in the reactor department. The ship’s two nuclear power plants provided all the electrical power and steam to propel both the ship and the catapult systems that help launch the planes off the deck.

With help from the Navy and the VA, she earned her MBA at Texas Christian University.  She also interned at Oncor. When she graduated in 2015, she signed on full time.

“From a technical standpoint, many of the concepts I learned in the Navy are essentially the same,” she said. “I have a really good understanding of electricity and I have a respect for it.”

The Navy also helped her become a better team player. “In the military, they tell you that you are not an individual contributor, you are part of a bigger thing,” she said. “Plus, you learn how to stay calm in critical situations. That all plays in to the safety aspect of what we do here.”

Rachel said joining the Navy was the best decision she ever made.

“It was a way to give back to my country,” she said, “and a way to get something in return.”