āYou put yourself in the right place; you never know what can happen,ā advises Phyllis Wilson. And this three-time Excelsior graduate can rightfully back up this claim. Currently, the president of the Military Womenās Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, retired Chief Warrant Officer 5 Wilson has an impressive 37-year military career, seven college degrees, a registered nurse credential, eight children, and 12 grandchildren.
With the goal of becoming a doctor, Wilson started her college career at a local community college following high school, the first in her family to pursue higher education. But due to limited financial resources, she could only afford one or two courses at a time. āI realized that I was two and a half years into it, and I didnāt even have one year of college finished and I thought this is going to take foreverāthereās got to be a better way,ā she recalls. And as fate would have it, she passed an Army recruiting station that was promoting college tuition benefits.
Wilson signed up, expecting to serve a four-year enlistment, yet discovered military service resonated with her. āThere was something about the military that was a perfect fit,ā she explains. āI just love the teamwork and the travelāthe incredible sights, scenes, sounds, and foods that I probably would have never been exposed to had I not raised my right hand and said Iām willing to join the military.ā
She began her Army career as a Military Intelligence German linguist voice intercept operator. During her active and reserve service, she held roles ranging from tactical to strategic with duty in Germany, Iraq, and the United States. She mobilized to support Operation Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm and served as the signals intelligence collection manager for XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Wilson also supported Operation Enduring Freedom as a senior counterterrorism analyst and deployed twice to Iraq with a highly specialized Joint Special Operations Task Force, whose objective was the capture of Osama Bin Laden.
Military tuition benefits launched her educational career, covering the costs of three of her degrees. She earned the first, an associate degree, while living in Germany. She earned an LPN certificate stateside with the goal of joining her husband in Germany and working at the local military hospital. When that didnāt work out as planned, she took a position at a credit union, which offered tuition benefits as well. She observes, āLife throws you curve balls, and youāve got to learn to swing.ā
And Wilson is pragmatic about those curve balls in her life. āI would much rather have failed trying to do something than regret that I never tried. Because when Iām much older, I donāt want to regret that I didnāt even try for it.ā
Failure wasnāt an option when Wilson attended the Armyās airborne school. āI was not coming back to an airborne unit without those wings,ā she says about earning her Parachutist Badge. āYou find a way to get through. It truly is mental. There is so much your body can do for you, but sometimes you think you canāt. But if your mind tells you that you can, you can!ā
Now as the leader of the Military Womenās Memorial, the nationās only major national memorial to honor all women who have defended the nation from the Revolutionary War until the present, Wilson continues her service in a civilian role. āEverything Iāve done in the military, Godās path, has prepared me to do exactly what Iām doing here [at the Memorial] I love this job!ā
ĢżA parking lot encounter is another example of finding herself in the right place, one that prompted Wilson to apply for the Military Womenās Memorial position. āI didnāt want to be associated with a military womenās anything,ā she explains. āI was a soldier, not a woman soldier.ā But after being confronted by a man who questioned her right to use a specially marked veteranās parking spot, she rethought the opportunity. He asked Wilson if her husband was with her, incorrectly assuming only a man could be a veteran. Biting her tongue, this Army Womenās Foundation Hall of Fame member calmly explained that she was indeed entitled to use the spot. She explains, āGoodness, how many more women have to wear a uniform to serve this country before theyāre recognized? Situations like this are happening to other women too and somebody has to champion them. Why not me?ā
Wilson earned her seventh college degreeāher third at Excelsiorāin June 2021. She used her Master in Public Administration capstone course to explore the Memorialās organizational construct. Throughout her Excelsior studies, earning a BS in Liberal Studies in 1988 and a BS in Nursing in 2010, she enjoyed the Collegeās flexible approach to learning and its military savviness. Based on her personal experience at other colleges and universities, she observes, āThere weren’t a lot of colleges and universities that were nearly as helpful as Excelsior in finding those additional credits.ā The College, she says, is a good fit for military students. āThey get it, they know what an ACE guide looks like, they know what a joint service transcript is, and they can help you get maximum credit,ā she explains.
As a recent graduate student working on her second masterās degree, she cites access to a world-class library and the collaboration with her fellow students as hallmarks of her experience. Noting the importance of self-improvement, she says, āhigher education is a great way to demonstrate that youāre trying to be the best possible employee, whether in uniform or out of uniform.ā Learn more about Excelsior College’s Liberal Arts degrees.
