3 Cheers: Military Member Proves It's Never Too Late To Make A Change
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — You could say the life motto for Senior Airman Yvette Guillen is: "It's never too late to change what you want to do."
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"Enlisting in the Air Force completely changed the whole rest of the scope of my life. Everything is different now," she said.
Before enlisting, Guillen trained for three years to be a nurse.
She never dreamed she'd leave that behind to become an operations intelligence analyst and instructor.
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But she was open to what life brought her way and that fearlessness has paid big dividends.
She was named the USO of Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey's Air Force "Service Member of the Year" for her exceptional work ethic and performance.
"I tend to operate outside my rank, so I was doing a lot of things airmen typically wouldn't do--leading things, being an instructor," Guillen said.
This is a leader; someone who pushes themselves and others to do more, learn more and be more.
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"I've just always been that way," Guillen explained. "I need to be the best at everything I do. So, I will approach every new thing and I just need to be outstanding at it all the time."
She could have let her age scare her away, convinced herself change it would be too hard but that would have been a loss for her and the nation.
Instead, Guillen chose to pursue excellence and serve her country.
For that, she gets three cheers.