CHARLESTON, W.Va. –
For West Virginia National Guard Staff Sgt. Stacey Carroll, paying it forward is a way of life.
The 68G Patient Administration Specialist Non-Commissioned Officer with WVNG’s Medical Readiness Detachment (MEDDET) lost two older sisters and two aunts to COVID-19 last year. While those devastating losses affected Carroll deeply, they also motivated her to do all that she can to make sure other West Virginians don’t have the same experience.
“Although I couldn’t help my family members in their battles with COVID, my contribution to West Virginia’s efforts helped other families and made a difference overall,” she said.
Carroll, of Stafford, Va., found that talking about her losses with her fellow soldiers was an important part of her grieving process and helped others within her unit better understand how people were affected by COVID.
“Very few of my fellow soldiers knew anyone who had died from or even contracted the virus, so my story brought them a sense of perspective,” she said. “Those cold and dark nights testing the residents for COVID with Task Force CRE became much more meaningful if in fact the test could help save them, provide an early alert or warning--something that my family members didn’t have.”
One of Carroll’s sisters was an essential worker and had to report to her jobsite daily, even though she couldn’t access the personal protective equipment (PPE) she needed because of the nationwide shortage. Part of Carroll’s duties with MEDDET included delivering PPE to hospitals and schools across West Virginia. Although she knew the equipment might go unused, simply making masks, gowns, gloves and other items available for other essential workers gave Carroll and her team a sense of helpfulness and gratitude.
“Knowing we had made that equipment available to those essential workers was more than good enough for me,” she said. “Providing an opportunity for others to go about their lives safely made being away from my family worth it.”
Away from the National Guard, Carroll is a certified public accountant and works as an audit manager for Ernst & Young, where she audits Department of Defense financial statements. She would like to take her professional experience—she has a master’s in finance—and eventually teach a finance or accounting course at the community college level.
“Many students start at the community college level,” she said. “Having someone currently in the industry teaching, answering questions, being relatable to students may help guide or shape their career paths. My desire is to pay it forward and sow back into a system that helped shape and mold my current career. I now hold a master’s in finance, but it all started with an accounting professor at my local community college talking about his passions with me. I want to be that professor for students in the next generation.”
Although her professional career and WVNG MOS don’t exactly align, Carroll said she thinks MEDDET is a great fit for her and her skills.
“Where else can you find a CPA who thoroughly understands the Army’s medical information systems and processes?” she said. “National Guard and Reserve soldiers bring a unique skill set to the Armed Forces that Active Duty soldiers may not possess. Some Guardspersons hold the same career position as their MOS, but most don’t. I enjoy the change of pace and ability to switch gears when I don my uniform.”