Waypoints podcast

Hi everyone,

Please join us for the second half of our September 11th podcast. After having the opportunity to speak with Devora Kirschner, we stayed on the line to discuss our own memories of September 11, 2001, and the complex feelings we have today, 25 years after the attacks on our nation. We also read through September 11 stories from classmates and from service academy women from across the academies. Thank you so much to all of the academy alumni who trusted us with your stories and were willing to share them with us for this epidode. We are so grateful for you and are so proud to be part of this community - this community that played such a significant role in and was affected so heavily by September 11 and the events that followed it.

Since recording this, we've also received additional stories from across the academy communities, and we'll bring these into our next episode.

Thank you!

September 11, 2001, impacted Americans everywhere - including those of us in the Naval Academy community - in many complex, interconnected ways. As we pass 25 years after 9/11, we wanted to mark the time and hold some space. Please join us for a discussion with Devora Kirschner in honor of her husband and our classmate, Darin Pontell '98, who was killed in the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

To Devora: thank you for being willing to talk with us about Darin and so much more. We are so very grateful.

It took us awhile to get our act together, but we finally got the chance to talk with VADM Sara Joyner, USNA '89! She spoke at the 50th celebration in April, and we'd been looking forward to the opportunity to follow up and speak with her about her experiences at USNA and in the fleet, flying some fantastic aircraft, and leadership.

The discussion did not disappoint! Please join Misty and Jeannette as we talk with VADM Joyner, learn more about her background and the path she took in the Navy, and discuss 50 years of progress for women at USNA and in the Navy and Marine Corps... and the perpetual goodness of Bruce Springsteen.

So back in March, we did a class of '98 (part 2) episode with Jen Salisbury, Sarah Rollings, and Susanne Weinrich. But Jen's answer to one of the questions we asked was removed in the published version of the podcast. So now, safely past the events of the 50th, we revisit Jen's comment, current events, silencing, and diverse and inclusive leadership (yes, we said those words aloud). Please join us - Jeannette, Shannon, Misty, Sarah, Susanne, and Jen from '98, and Postie from '82.

Also, please note that we are each here in our personal capacity. The views and opinions that were expressed in this podcast and notes are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the organizations they belong to.

Earlier this spring, SOMB got connected with the Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress (LOC) and had the opportunity to meet and speak with the VHP director, Monica Mohindra, and tour the VHP space and the LOC. And that's when we learned that the VHP needs more stories from women veterans. Of course, we agree - there should be more stories out there from women who have served, including women from USNA.

Please join us to hear Monica speak with Jeannette about the VHP, what it does, and some of the stories that have stuck with her over the years. And please consider contributing your story to the VHP -- Jeannette and Chris (also '98) plan to do so in August.

If you're interested in learning more, please take a look at these sites - you can find some of the stories Monica shared (Jamie Fox, George Pearcy, Robert Augur, and many more)

https://www.loc.gov/programs/veterans-history-project/about-this-program/ https://www.facebook.com/vetshistoryproject https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/category/veterans-history-project/ https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.101245/

Monica, thank you so much for joining us for the discussion and for all that you do! And women (and all alums) from USNA -- please go share your story! Everyone has a story to share, and our stories are important.

Hi everyone! Please join us (Jeannette and Kate) as we have the privilege of talking with and learning from the amazing Sandra Fontaine, USNA 81 -- part of the second class with women and one of the first women to commission into the Marine Corps out of USNA. Please join and listen to Sandra's experiences at USNA and in the Corps -- about being in the second class with women at Navy, going through gender-segregated training in the Corps, facing discrimination, building tent cities, and traveling the world. Sandra, thank you so much for joining us! And thank you to the Alumni Association for your support of this work - and to the USNA Women's Glee Club for letting us use your voices to sing us in and out!

Please join us to meet and learn from Erin (Deeds) Beaty '00! Erin doesn't sit still well, as we've learned - from majoring in Aero (Astro track) at USNA, to serving as a SWO (and managing the stress of being a new parent with being a JO on her first ship), to being a published author (of FIVE books), to managing a family with five kids and an active duty Navy husband, to working her way through an accelerated track in nursing school (to graduate in 2027). We're thrilled to get to meet and talk with Erin in this post-50th episode - Erin, thank you so much for joining us during what sounds like an incredibly busy time! (And if you're interested, she has a "Meet the Author" site -- https://www.erinbeaty.com/copy-of-about - take a look at some of her books. We get to talk with the coolest people.)

Thank you as well to the USNA Women's Glee Club for lending us your voices for the podcast.

Beware - some strong feelings here. All of the feelings. About two weeks after the 50th events, Kate, Shannon, and Jeannette met up to talk through their complex feelings and thoughts in the aftermath of that meaningful and wonderful weekend...including both how we feel about the Academy's silence around the 50th anniversary and how amazing it was to have the support of the broader alumni community and the Alumni Association and Foundation.

Please join us.

Hi everyone - we are thrilled to introduce this podcast episode! For this recording, we were so very honored and excited to be joined by Ms. Mouzetta Zumwalt-Weathers (daughter of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr., CNO 19), who came on the podcast to talk with us about her father's legacy, the 50th anniversary event, and what it was like to be a teenager in the house of the CNO during such a dynamic and combustible period in the history of the US Navy.

Please join us and listen... forgive us as we get a bit overcome at times, especially as we talk with Mouzetta about how her father's vision and changemaking directly impacted our lives. Mouzetta joined USNA Women for the 50th anniversary events, and we celebrate the knowledge that her father's leadership helped shape a world where all of us were able to attend the Academy and serve in the Navy and Marine Corps ... talk about a full circle moment.

Thank you, Mouzetta! You are carrying the torch of your father's legacy - which lives on through all of us today - and we are so very grateful! Thank you as well to the voices of the USNA Women's Glee Club and for the support of the USNA Alumni Association and Foundation for this podcast.

Please join us for our last live episode from the 50th! This time, we get to sit down with the amazing CAPT Tasya Lacy, USNA '97, to talk about family, service, track, singing, and inclusion. We overlapped with Tasya at USNA, so it was fantastic to reconnect with her - especially as the events of the 50th surrounded us and lifted us up. And - since this was the morning after the Gala - we got to talk about how it felt to dance and celebrate as a group after all of these years.

This is our final live episode, BUT -- stay tuned... we have a number of post-50th podcasts coming up, to include an interview with Ms. Mouzetta Zumwalt-Weathers, the youngest child of CNO 19, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr. We are on a high from all of these.

Thank you for being willing to join us and talk, Tasya! You inspire us and it was so wonderful to reconnect! Thank you as well to the USNA Women's Glee Club for sharing your amazing voices and to the USNA Alumni Association and Foundation for your continued, irreplaceable support of our work! And thank you to Natasha Schleper and Chris Servillo (99) for being rock star editors!