Bryan Silva’s narrative is one of evolution, resilience, and the constant pursuit of growth.

Originating as an enlisted sailor, he ascended through the Navy’s ranks to become a seasoned Naval Officer, guided by a profound dedication to duty and an unyielding quest for personal advancement. With over two decades of service under his belt, Bryan now stands at the brink of a new chapter in his life, poised to leverage his accumulated skills and determination in the civilian sphere.

Bryan’s path to this moment wasn’t always straightforward. Like many young adults, Bryan’s entry into the Navy was influenced by family tradition and a desire for adventure. Reflecting on his early days, Bryan recalls the sage advice of his grandfather, a World War II Navy veteran, who saw in Bryan the same spirit of exploration and duty that defined his own service.

“My grandfather’s stories of service, coupled with the wisdom imparted by other veteran mentors who continue to inspire me today, were powerful motivators for me,” Bryan reflects, contemplating his decision to join the Navy. “My grandfather passed on invaluable lessons learned through his own experiences. It was this combination of duty, exploration, and the chance to make a difference outside of the shores of my hometown in California that ultimately led me to begin my own Naval career.”

Bryan’s journey, though not without its twists and turns, is emblematic of the transformative power of perseverance. From his initial enlistment in 1998, just a month following his high school graduation, to his subsequent rise to the rank of Engineering Limited Duty Officer (LDO), Bryan’s naval career was characterized by a steadfast commitment to excellence. Yet, as retirement loomed on the horizon, Bryan confronted the challenging prospect of transitioning to civilian life—a challenge that would ultimately redefine his path forward.

It was during this pivotal moment of uncertainty that Bryan’s encounter with the Syracuse

University’s D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families’ (IVMF) Onward to Opportunity (O2O) program proved providential. “I was inspired by the stories of fellow veterans who had successfully navigated the transition to civilian work through O2O,” Bryan said. “This ultimately led me to embark on a journey of exploration and self-discovery.” Fueled by his inherent passion for project management, Bryan set his sights on obtaining the O2O Project Management Professional (PMP) certification—a goal that would soon become the focal point of his aspirations, all at no cost to him due to the backing of esteemed institutions like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the Schultz Family Foundation.

In a recent serendipitous encounter at the Mechanicsburg Chapter Supply Corps Birthday Ball this February, Bryan and his wife, both deeply embedded in the naval community, had the distinct honor of meeting Daniel D’Aniello, esteemed as the Navy Supply Corps Foundation’s 63rd Distinguished Alumnus and guest speaker at the event. However, what truly resonated with Bryan was D’Aniello’s affiliation with Syracuse University’s D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

“This connection underscored D’Aniello’s enduring commitment to supporting veterans and their families well beyond his days in the service, a dedication that deeply inspires me as I prepare for my own transition,” says Bryan. The significance of D’Aniello’s speech, coupled with his ongoing investment in the lives of those who have served, reignited Bryan’s motivation to embrace the ethos of continued service and support as he embarks on the next phase of his journey. This newfound inspiration comes at a crucial juncture. Having recently completed the comprehensive O2O boot camp, Bryan now strides confidently toward the next phase of his PMP Certification journey.

As Bryan prepares to bid farewell to his naval career, he does so with a sense of purpose and anticipation for the road ahead. With each passing day, he dedicates himself to the pursuit of excellence, drawing upon the invaluable skills and lessons learned during his military tenure as assets in his civilian endeavors.

Reflecting on his journey, Bryan offers a poignant piece of advice to those on the fence about enrolling in programs like O2O: “Get off the fence and do it.” He emphasizes that the benefits of participating in such programs far outweigh any doubts or reservations, asserting that it’s an opportunity to invest in oneself, chart a course towards a brighter future, and embrace the unknown with courage and conviction, not to mention the power of the IVMF alumni network.

With the unwavering support of programs like O2O and the inspiration drawn from individuals like D’Aniello and countless other veterans who have successfully transitioned to the civilian sector, Bryan sees the transition not just as a challenge, but as a path filled with promise, opportunity, and the potential for profound personal growth.

Onward to Opportunity (O2O) has always accompanied Scott H. Vincent on his journey from veteran to student, and from being a successful student to having a successful career. Vincent discovered O2O during his senior year at the University of Colorado Denver. At the time, a student veteran in his graduate-level class told him that there is a free program where he can earn a PMP certification. Vincent didn’t believe it until he checked O2O’s website.

“I applied 10 minutes later,” he said.

After being accepted Vincent joined a cohort at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, CO, to get initiated in the program. Before leaving the Army years prior, he attended the Army Civilian Augmentation Program, or ACAP, as a transition out of the military. Different from ACAP that Vincent had taken at Fort Hood years ago, O2O changed the focus from “how to write a resume” and “how to look for a job” to important soft skills, such as Joe Valdez’s Emotional Intelligence lecture, which were not part of the ACAP program.

But O2O gives him much more than just a certification, “I would have had a much harder time earning that credential without the assistance of Katrina and Joe at O2O and would likely still be working at getting to where I’m currently at in my professional life without it.”

Following his military service, Vincent has worked for a variety of organizations, and he most recently joined the US Army Corps of Engineers as a Small Business Deputy and Procurement Analyst. He oversees the development of small businesses and helps to maximize their opportunities to participate in procurement processes. Those everyday responsibilities require him to interact with a variety of partners, customers, and contractual people, including teammates at Buckley AFB.

To give back to the community, Vincent now volunteers for the Mile-Hi Chapter for Project Management Institute (PMI) with their military outreach committee. He has referred numerous military-affiliated personnel to O2O as they work towards earning their PMP certifications. He also works on those same application workshops that O2O sent him to when he was in the cohort.

“I believe that when you’re given something of value, it’s important to pay that forward,” Vincent says, “O2O gave me a resource that helped me to be a better professional, so I try to pass on that knowledge and skill any way I can.”

Vincent’s final advice for incoming participants is to “take full advantage of the cohort”. He says it is very possible that the guy you’re sitting next to in the cohort is a manager at a big defense contracting firm or something similar and is looking for someone just like you that holds the credential you’re working on earning.

“Network, make friends, support each other, and (just like in the military) celebrate the successes…together.”

Carvajal writes:

I was born and raised in Ecuador and came to the US when I was 15 years old. English became my second language when I was 15, definitely not an easy language to learn but it was not impossible, and I persevered. Early life experiences moving as a teenager from one country to another and not knowing the language was challenging but just like the movement of life as a military spouse, also rewarding.

I am currently an Active-Duty Army spouse and Mother of 4 amazing kids (3 boys & 1 girl) and full-time People Operations Manager at Instant Teams.

I’ve just recently PCS’d and it’s been amazing to keep my Onward to Opportunity (O2O) training on track between moves. We’ve relocated to Fort Irwin, CA which is such a small Army post with a huge heart and community.

My professional career started within the Education field progressing throughout the paths of Army MWR Child, Youth, and School Services careers. I started out as a Child and Youth Program Assistant, then Preschool Lead Teacher, then Teacher Assistant, and finally as an Assistant Director. Throughout those years, I always thought I wanted to be in the education field until I started working on my MBA. That is when I found my passion for Human Resources and People Operations. So then in 2019, I was hired to join the People Operations team at Instant Teams and have continued to dedicate my time in learning and developing myself as a People Operations professional.

When I heard about O2O through our teams at Instant Teams, I knew immediately that my next goal was to achieve the PHR certification. I loved that O2O offers an intensive course that helps you prepare for the exam. The program has been a fabulous balance of both compliance but also usable work practices in daily People Operations management. My top takeaway from the program? It is a self-paced program! It allows you to take notes and review the courses as needed and the library with a variety of resources to continue to prepare for the certification even after completing the required course has been really helpful.

I have been thrilled & thankful for the opportunity this program offers to military spouses for free. It is definitely a rewarding experience! Do it! Don’t think about it too much! Use your time wisely, take notes (I have 3 notebooks with notes from the course) and ensure to have dedicated time to complete the course.

Lekendric Doyle graduated from Navy Region Northwest’s Onward to Opportunity program with a PMP certificate.

Doyle writes:

The Onward to Opportunity program through IVMF was an excellent experience. From orientation and networking to exam preparation, Ben Dufay helped me maximize my learning success in achieving my Project Management Professional certification and prepare for transitioning into civilian life. I highly recommend any service member take advantage of the Onward to Opportunity program!

As a Chicago native, I dedicated myself to lifelong learning at a young age. My humble beginnings were wrought with investigative disassembly of electronics, such as the family VCR, which quickly led to me being coined the family mad scientist. Recognizing my potential at a young age, my mother and father always encouraged me to chase my dreams and pursue greater knowledge. After graduating from the Steinmentz International Baccalaureate Program, I attended Milwaukee School of Engineering, studying mechanical engineering with a heavy focus on physics and thermodynamics. During my studies I became fascinated with quantum theory and particle physics, which led me to pursue a career as a nuclear operator in the United States Navy. After graduating at the top of my class in the Naval Nuclear Power Training pipeline, I was then selected as an instructor to train the next generation on nuclear operators. After a successful instructor tour, I went on to serve on USS Henry M. Jackson, USS Bremerton, and USS Jacksonville where I completed Engineering supervisor Qualifications and served as the Assistant Quality Assurance officer. Continuing to strive for excellence, I was selected as the Squadron-19 Sailor of the Year.

My decade of service on several submarines has given me a wealth of experience and exposure to interesting individuals that has enriched my life. My close friend, the excellent YNC Shawn Daniel once told me that, “Your path to success is only blocked by you. You must first get out of your own way to realize your goals and aspirations”. Taking this wisdom to heart, I began seeking professional development programs that aided veterans in transitioning to civilian life. After accessing the DOD Skillbridge website, I discovered the Pacific Northwest Onward to Opportunity through IVMF.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic imposed restrictions on several of the other veteran transition programs, IVMF offered a significant sampling of its courses in convenient virtual or hybrid format. As the program manager and mentor, Benjamin Dufay ensured that my pathway to certification was painless, often dedicating time to hold in person training seminars and answering many of my questions. The mentorship and knowledge I gained through IVMF directly contributed to my successful transition into the civilian world.

Shortly After achieving my PMP certification through Onward to Opportunity, I completed my undergraduate degree and accepted a management position in the Engines manufacturing department at Blue Origin. I owe a great deal of thanks to Ben and Onward to Opportunity for helping me achieve these prestigious milestones in my career. As an O2O alumni I plan to pursue my agile practitioner certification while continuing to help build the road to millions of people living and working in space. Thank you to all of the influential people that helped me reach this point and I hope that all veterans strive to achieve greater success through O2O.

The following is from Thomas Braden:

I was fortunate enough to participate in IVMF’s Onward to Opportunity (O2O) program prior to retiring after 27 years in the Navy and it really prepared me for ‘what’s next?!’ In particular, I studied the Human Resources track and prepared for the SHRM exam. Life got in the way, and I never managed to take the exam, as I retired and followed my wife to Jakarta, Indonesia three days later.

Well, three months later, I was hired by USAID as their Human Resources Advisor to assist them in creating and launching a new pay and personnel evaluation system for their local staff.

Without my time at O2O, I would not have been ready to do so!

Sadly, COVID had us evacuated 18 months into our three-year tour, and I found myself unemployed and pursuing a new job with the federal government. While the hiring process languished for almost a year, I again relied upon my Boots to Business entrepreneurship and O2O training and decided to write a book to teach others how to better navigate the GS system!

I am now employed at Naval Forces Europe and Africa and I’m passionate about continuing to help others as they transition from Active Duty to Government Service!

Erika Moreira had a bachelor’s degree in event planning and had been working at nonprofits but was interested in a career change to human resources. Unsure where to begin the career transition, she reached out to IVMF’s Onward to Opportunity program – a no-cost option to her as she is a qualified military spouse. During the classes, she was going through challenging times such as her husband retiring from the U.S. Marine Corps after 20 years, selling their home and moving to another state, and her elderly mother-in-law moving in. “It was stressful to say the least, but IVMF worked with me, and I was not only able to get my aPHR certification to get started in human resources, but I was scouted by a recruiter (a USMC veteran) and was given the job within three weeks of moving to Dallas.”

Erika took her final test in June 2021 and is now the onsite recruiting coordinator for IntelliSource. According to their website, IntelliSource is “an outsourcing company with a uniquely personal approach to our customers’ operations and workforce challenges.” Erika says it’s been such a great experience working in human resources. She now plans to get her SPHR certification.

It’s often said what service members and their family members experience during their military service prepares them for civilian life. “The military prepared me with resiliency and to know there is always more than one way to do things when you are trying to figure out an answer,” Erika said.

Networking is essential when you exit the military. “Network and keep in contact with people,” Erika said. “I was given my IVMF certification by veterans, I was offered a job by a veteran, and am now closing on a home in Dallas made up of a realty group of veterans. You will need to transition to civilian life, but don’t forget where you came from and make sure to pay that forward.”

Roy Wilson successfully completed 6 courses through Onward to Opportunity: PMP, CISSP, Agile Certified Practitioner, SSGB, Data Science Concepts and PHR. He is the first graduate to do so at our Hampton Roads location.

Wilson Writes:

Roy Wilson Being extremely nervous about transition at my last military command before retirement, I sought out all the transitioning resources available — paid, free, or otherwise. Before coming in contact with Onward to Opportunity (O2O), I had participated in 7-10 different transitioning resource programs, completed all the introductory workshops for all of them, completed 4 programs and didn’t see enough value in the other programs to continue / finish. From the introductory sessions of O2O, from meeting the quality of people running the cohorts (Paulina Thompson and John Malfitano), to listening to the panelists who remain committed to supporting O2O and who talk deeply about transition… about lasting personal success through and after transition – I was inspired to take full advantage of the opportunity that O2O provides.

The timeframe I started my coursework coincided with my starting my next career. As I was working through the first course, I found I was already using those stated best practices in my job performance and bringing some of the course recommendations to my company for better customer understanding and relationships. Inspired by using and applying what I learned daily, I completed the coursework and exams for the first course in 2 weeks. To watch my work acumen increase so fast after and during the first course, I completed the coursework for 5 additional courses within the first 3 months of the O2O term. The five additional courses also strengthened the concepts learned in the first course as they all use the world-wide recognized terminology. As a result, by the 4-month mark in the program, I had obtained the formal certification for the first course and started my self-study for an additional certification.

If you would have asked me what the best part of the program was before I started it, I would have told you that it was totally grant funded — i.e. free to me! But after going through the program, completing one professional, world-wide recognized certification and the coursework for 5 others, I will tell you that the best parts were learning and applying world-wide recognized corporate language and the care the cohort directors (Paulina and John) placed in MY transition to allow me to be successful!

“I’d given 19 years directly focused on the military. I wanted to make sure during the transition that I took some of that focus and put it on myself.”

When Zakenyia Simmons joined the Army at 17, her plan was to serve four years and move on. But she loved the teamwork, the camaraderie and the travel of the military. She also developed a passion for her field of imagery intelligence, and happily deployed eight times to locations ranging from South America to Qatar to Afghanistan.

But after the birth of her daughter in 2014, “I knew I needed to slow down,” Zakenyia said. So, she began making plans to prepare for life in the civilian sector after two decades in the Army. Fortunately, Zakenyia’s skills – which involve analyzing complex imagery captured by satellites or sensors on airplanes – are in high demand outside of the military, so Zakenyia was confident she’d have success finding work.

Still, she had no professional certifications and had never conducted a job search, so she decided to participate in the Onward to Opportunity program at Fort Bragg to pursue a certificate in SAS computer programming.

She said the initial two-day in-person training from O2O was “phenomenal,” particularly the in-depth overview she received about working in the IT industry. She also valued the advice she received on marketing herself, from updating her resume to appeal to civilian IT employers, to establishing and setting up a LinkedIn profile.

Today Zakenyia is employed by BAE Systems as a geospatial intelligence instructor at the National Geospatial-Intelligence College.

“Anyone I know who has transitioned or is getting ready to transition, I’m a big advocate for Onward to Opportunity,” she said. “It’s been great for me, and I’ve seen it work not just for me – I’ve seen the people to the left of me and to the right of me in my cohort getting jobs.”

Danielle Bootes spent over six and a half years in the Army, mostly in HR. When she first heard about O2O and its numerous course offerings and certifications, she was eager to find something that would complement her experience in the Army as well as her education. She decided to enroll in the SPHR Program to advance her HR knowledge.

To Danielle, her favorite part of the program was the diversity within the classes. She got to interact with veterans who had already been out, retirees, and military spouses. This was critical in helping her transition to civilian life.

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