This week’s Urban Valor episode features Marine veteran Jessica Quezada. Jess grew up in Dallas, Texas. Her mother was addicted to drugs and alcohol and passed away in 2017. She enlisted in the Marines to do photojournalism and took advantage of her time in service to travel the world. However, Jess states she had difficulty building camaraderie and connecting with other Marines. She became dependent on alcohol to be able to sleep, which caused her to wreck her vehicle into a tree. Just as she turned herself around, Jess popped on a drug test and discovered it was from drinking a tea she brought back to the states from Columbia, which ultimately got her discharged from the Marines. She now runs an organization called “Libo Risk” inspiring veterans to travel the world.

Thank you to Jessica for sitting down with Urban Valor founder, Josh Gutierrez, and sharing her story.