By Danielle DeSimone
For the second year in a row, FedEx has worked with the USO and two NFL teams in offering the FedEx Football Fellowship – an incredible opportunity for recently-transitioned service members to gain hands-on professional experience as they transition from military to civilian life.
The FedEx Football Fellowship is an extension of the USO Pathfinder® program, which helps service members and their spouses through the process of shifting from a military life to a civilian life through career, education, family and financial services.
The USO Pathfinder program has also been supported by FedEx and the NFL through the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year program. This interactive program allows NFL fans to vote for their top quarterback and running back; when the winners are announced at the end of each week, FedEx will donate $2,000 to the USO in each of their names through FedEx Cares. With this $4,000 donation, the USO Pathfinder program can in turn continue to support even more service members in their journey out of service.
Each year, more than 200,000 service members transition out of the military. The FedEx Football Fellowship makes that transition slightly smoother by supporting service members and military spouses in their pursuit of careers beyond the military. This year, four former service members and military spouses were chosen to participate in a 12-week fellowship alongside the Washington Redskins and the Tennessee Titans to help them with that transition. Meet the 2019 FedEx Football Fellows below.
Emily Arnsberg
Branch: Air Force
Years of military service: 7 years
Rank at separation: Captain
Age: 30
Hometown: Centennial, Colorado
Stationed: San Antonio, Texas; Abilene, Texas; Washington, D.C.; Al Udeid, Qatar.
2019 FedEx Football Fellowship Team: Washington Redskins
From Military Life to Civilian Life
What do you think you’ll miss most about serving in the military?
I will miss the people and the camaraderie and teamwork the most. I had the opportunity to serve with some amazing individuals and supervisors! I truly loved getting to work with people who had so much integrity and commitment to service, and getting to work towards one mission and goal.
How has USO Pathfinder helped you in your transition from the military?
The USO Pathfinder is a great program! They help transitioning members with resume writing, available Veterans Affairs programs like educational assistance and interview prep! I found out about the FedEx Football fellowship through the USO Pathfinder program and had an awesome adviser who helped me through the application process.
What is your dream job after transitioning out of the military?
I would love to work in the sports arena, especially with the NFL or the NHL! This fellowship gives us the opportunity to get our feet wet in the sports world and I am very excited to continue what I learn in this position, and hopefully use that education to work in professional sports.
Paving the Way Forward with the FedEx Football Fellowship
What do you love about football?
Similar to the military, I love the teamwork and camaraderie aspect of football. It takes every single member of the team to do their job in order to win! I also love that this sport brings together so many people, from different backgrounds, to root for one team … you could meet a random fan of your same team anywhere and you automatically have something in common!
What is your most memorable USO experience?
My most memorable experience was volunteering with the USO at Richmond International Airport when I was training in Virginia a few years ago. All of the volunteers were so dedicated and kind, and it was cool to see so many people taking care of our service members!
What excites you most about this fellowship opportunity?
I am most excited about the opportunity for a new challenge and the ability to learn about working in professional sports! This program gives prior service members who have never worked in professional sports with the opportunity to learn behind-the-scenes how a sports organization runs. We have already worked a home game, and it is amazing to see how much effort it takes to bring it together. I also enjoy that this program allows us to translate what we did in the military into a different sector of work!
Riann Doyle
Branch: Army – Military Spouse
Years of military service: Spouse has served 22 years so far
Age: 42
Hometown: Trinity, North Carolina
Stationed: Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Fort Belvoir, Virginia; Fort Drum, New York; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Caserma Ederle, Italy; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
2019 FedEx Football Fellowship Team: Tennessee Titans
From Military Life to Civilian Life
What do you think you’ll miss most about being a part of the military community?
I can’t imagine not being a part of the larger military family. There is a sense of togetherness with other military families that civilians don’t quite understand. It’s a strange life … moving every few years, always starting over, kids in numerous schools, husbands gone for multiple deployments. Best friends are made in minutes because rarely do you ever know anyone at a new duty station. Friends become family. Living on-post brings a sense of patriotism. You get used to helicopters flying overhead, artillery going off all hours, Revelry playing over the loudspeakers every day at 5 pm. And ultimately, the military takes care of its families. I’ll miss so many aspects of it when my husband retires.
How has USO Pathfinder helped you in your transition from the military?
As an active duty military spouse, my career was never the focus. We were generally only at a duty station for 2 years; for example, from 2015-2018, we moved three times in three years. This made it difficult to even attempt to find a job, let alone start a career, so I focused on my family and volunteering with youth sports, schools, church and Family Readiness Groups (FRGs).
When I walked into the Pathfinder office, I was scared! I hadn’t done a resume in years! And without work experience, I didn’t know how to make my volunteer experience work for me. So, they led me through the process, helped review my completed resume and encouraged me to just apply for things that I didn’t think I could ever get.
What is your dream job?
My husband is active duty for at least a few more years, so I am still a distance from my turn for a dream job. Ultimately, I want a job where I interact with people, stay crazy busy and create joy for other people!
Paving the Way Forward with the FedEx Football Fellowship
What do you love about football?
I LOVE football. I love the game day experience … the crowds, the fanfare, the excitement of the crowd. I love the camaraderie of fans … having a stadium of “friends” who high-five complete strangers in good times and groan together in bad. I love how there’s a chance on any given Sunday to beat anyone. And I love how it gives people something to discuss throughout the week – a common ground to bring people together, even if they disagree on teams!
What is your most memorable USO experience?
When we were stationed in Italy, USO Vicenza was our home. We moved overseas and two months later, my husband deployed. I was alone, in a strange country away from friends and family, with four kids all under the age of seven.
The USO director there took us under his wing. He helped me get settled, gave me phone cards to call my family back in the States and even let me host two of my kids’ birthday parties at the USO, providing movies and popcorn. We went to USO Vicenza several times a week for their free dinner and on Saturday, when we were bored, we would go there to play games and have snacks. It really was a home away from home when my husband was gone.
What excites you most about this fellowship opportunity?
I love the Titans and I’m excited to work for an organization that is known for doing such good for the community, while also realizing that it’s a business to make money. It’s fascinating for me to see how millions of tiny pieces done by so many people all come together for one, huge game day experience.
But it’s also a good experience to see just how day-to-day offices run … how when everyone collaborates, the best results really come out.
Dominic Fonseca
Branch: Army
Years of military service: 22
Rank at separation: Chief Warrant Officer
Age: 44
Hometown: Weslaco, Texas
Stationed: Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland; Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Wiesbaden, Germany; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Fort Wainwright, Alaska; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Iraq.
2019 FedEx Football Fellowship Team: Tennessee Titans
From Military Life to Civilian Life
What do you think you’ll miss most about serving in the military?
The camaraderie, cohesion and being able to relate to others.
How has USO Pathfinder helped you in your transition from the military?
It’s given me another view on how things run in the civilian sector.
What is your dream job after transitioning out of the military?
A blimp pilot.
Paving the Way Forward with the FedEx Football Fellowship
What do you love about football?
How everyone works in a synergistic fashion and when last-second issues arise, everyone is very resilient, allowing for the mission to be successfully accomplished.
What is your most memorable USO experience? Getting to see the Tennessee Titans practice on my birthday.
What excites you most about this fellowship opportunity?
Being able to network and meet different people.
Charnecia Mcgee
Branch: Navy
Years of military service: 8 years
Rank at separation: Petty Officer 2nd Class
Age: 27
Hometown: Beaumont, Texas
Stationed: Norfolk, Virginia; Misawa, Japan; Sigonella, Italy; Souda Bay, Crete, Greece.
2019 FedEx Football Fellowship Team: Washington Redskins
From Military Life to Civilian Life
What do you think you’ll miss most about serving in the military?
What I will miss most about serving in the military is the camaraderie that I experienced throughout my career, and the opportunities that I was given to exemplify skill sets for which I had obtained. Serving in the military taught me how to build relationships with members of different backgrounds, which led to lifelong friendships and great memories.
How has USO Pathfinder helped you in your transition from the military?
The USO Pathfinder program has provided me with outstanding resources that are essential to succeed in the civilian sector. The Pathfinder program is also a great tool for veterans to use when seeking assistance in writing a cover letter and resumé, mock interviews and volunteer opportunities. My counselor, Meredith Kasenow, has gone above and beyond to ease my transition by creating an action plan tailored to my needs. On the plan, I found the educational and employment sources beneficial for me to look into and complete.
What is your dream job after transitioning out of the military?
My dream job is to become a Human Resources Officer. I’m currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management during my Fellowship.To tailor this fellowship to fit my needs, both the USO and FedEx has provided me with an opportunity to also work with the Washington Redskins Human Resources department to experience hands-on training so that I may become familiar with the job tasks.
Paving the Way Forward with the FedEx Football Fellowship
What do you love about football?
What I love about football is that it is similar to my experience in the military. It takes a group of diverse strangers, provides them with strategies to meet a common goal and makes them a better team in the end. Seeing the fans across the world and their support for a football team also makes the sport enjoyable.
What is your most memorable USO experience?
My most memorable experience with the USO is when I first visited a USO located in the Charlotte, North Carolina airport. After completing boot camp, I stopped by the USO facility and this is where I first learned of the amount of care that American civilians had towards the military. I was met with smiling faces, unlimited access to technology, food and an overall comfortable environment.
What excites you most about this fellowship opportunity?
Being one of the first women to receive this fellowship opportunity is very exciting. It acknowledges and shows the support for all of the women who have served in the military as well.
This fellowship also provided me with my first civilian career experience since getting out of the military. My only wish is that more organizations would provide veterans with the opportunity to get a better understanding of who they truly are and what they want to do with their lives post-military.
Every day, America’s service members selflessly put their lives on the line to keep us safe and free. Please take a moment to let our troops know how much we appreciate their service and sacrifice.