Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. -- Master Sgt. Alexandria Verissimo, 81st Training Wing executive support services superintendent, has consistently sought out opportunities to expand her skillset and challenge herself.
“I’ve always had a drive to never do the same thing twice,” said Verissimo. “I didn’t want to stick to the traditional NCO path.”
Her drive led her to the Education With Industry program, which embeds military personnel into large companies, focusing on developing professional competencies.
Previously, only officers and civilians who possess specific Air Force Specialty Codes were eligible for the EWI program. When a new beta program rolled out, Airmen ranking from staff sergeant to senior master sergeant became eligible for the program.
After finding the opportunity on MyVector, Verissimo was eager to expand her skills with the EWI program.
“No admins had ever used this program before,” said Verissimo.
She was selected for Qualcomm, an S&P 500 listed company in the semiconductor industry.
Verissimo entered the EWI program in July 2020 and spent her first six months working with Qualcomm’s global sales operation team.
“I learned about Salesforce, which is the platform that we use for MyEval and MyDeck,” said Verissimo. “That was helpful, especially knowing I could bring it back to my military career.”
The last four months of the program Verissimo worked with the global inclusion and diversity team.
“I learned a lot of new practices and procedures that I was able to bring back to the Air Force,” said Verissimo. “Especially with the base's diversity inclusion initiative, I was able to take what I learned there and push it into our program here at the wing.”
Verissimo was able to bring back practices and procedures from her host company and implement them to improve her career field and Keesler.
“This program has allowed me to show my coworkers how to best utilize the sites we use every day,” said Verissimo. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to do something different.”