My Story: Dawn Moninger

I was given an opportunity as a young staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force to change career paths, or what they call cross-train. By that point, I had been enlisted for eight years.

Once I became a veteran based on certain criteria, I was given a narrowed-down choice between the fields of paralegal, journalism or safety.

Each choice came with additional required technical education and on-the-job training. Coincidentally, each clearly allowed me to fulfill what called to me most.

Stepping back in time, as a high school graduate, I was unable to go to law school, as I had always dreamed of. Instead, I went straight into the workforce, working in the advertising department of a newspaper. That came with new aspirations of landing a newsroom job. But life changes our paths unexpectedly at times, and instead of becoming a journalist, I joined the Air Force.

From there, I was assigned to the field of logistics, readiness and supply. A worthy field, but not one that gave me the self-efficacy I sought.

I was overjoyed with how, years later, my dream career options presented themselves to me with the opportunity to cross-train into a new career field.

By then, I had gleaned more from a broader understanding of the working world. This understanding came from the experience I had garnered, but also in witnessing my parents’ struggles throughout the years.

The challenges levied upon them were wholly unconscionable, as they endured the pain and difficulty wrought by unsafe and unhealthy work environments from their employers.

My dad suffered third-degree burns on his leg from a broken boiler steampipe. My mom endured years of cysts on her fingers, with fingernails that turned black, as result of working routinely with chemicals while her hands went unprotected.

The realization that my parents had no choice but to work in unsafe and unhealthy conditions fueled my integral desire to serve others by preventing workplace injuries and illnesses.

That is the field I chose to cross-train into.

Becoming a safety professional was a new calling for me, and one that would prove to fulfill that self-efficacy I had longed for. I doubt becoming a journalist or law school graduate would have truly fulfilled me in the same ways.

The Air Force provided top-notch technical training combined with unparalleled on-the-job training from professional mentors. I traveled the world using and expanding my knowledge and skill set in the most diverse and austere environments. I spent a year at Thule Air Base in Greenland, and a dozen other countries, as I either deployed or inspected geographically separated units.

What a lifetime of learning about health and safety I absorbed in those 14 years!

Once retired, I kept on learning and serving in this field that requires a truly unique dedication to people and their quality of work environment.

Now I’m the corporate EHS director for a private company.

Twenty-five years later, becoming a safety pro still provides the ultimate in personal satisfaction in knowing I help others be able to come to work without fear of becoming ill or being injured.

Dawn Moninger

EHS+ Director

JDH

Omaha, NE