At the Middle School Assembly on Monday, History Teacher and U.S. Army Veteran Damin Bauer informed the students about the history and purpose of Veterans Day. This day was originally known as Armistice Day, and it celebrated the truce between Germany and the Allies that occurred on Nov. 11, 1918. In 1954, Congress changed it Veterans Day.

“Most people don’t know it started in a little town in Mississippi,” Damin said. “One guy decided he wanted to do a veterans’ parade. And that veterans’ parade in one little town went all the way across the United States and then became Veterans Day. So, one person can change the world.”

Damin told the students that he joined the Army after 9/11. “[Veterans Day] is a day of remembrance, it’s a day of joy, and it’s also a day of sadness. It’s one of those mixed-emotion days,” Damin said. He ended his talk by reminding students that we thank any veterans in our families and community for their service to our country while we enjoy the day off.

To honor this day, we spoke with English Teacher Mawee Aguon who served in the U.S. Army as a First Lieutenant. She served from 2016 to 2019, and was stationed in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and Fort Hood, Texas. Here’s what she had to say:

What motivated you to serve our country in this way?

When I was in high school, I knew I always wanted to make a difference in the world by helping serve others, a quality my parents instilled in me growing up.  I applied for the military academies and was nominated for the Naval Academy, but I instead decided to participate in my local university's Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC) program. I also saw serving in the military as a challenge. No one in my family had ever been commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army and no female officer from Guam was ever commissioned into a combat arms branch before me. I was always in the mindset of defying norms.

How does your experience in the service impact your role as an educator today?

Serving in the Army instilled many skills in me, including attention to detail, organization, time management, the ability to work with people from all cultures, adaptability, and resilience. I think that serving the youth of America in education requires a similar sense of service and leadership. I have the honor of continuing to serve my community as an educator. I see education, from the lens of a veteran, as the ability to encourage students to think critically, to advocate for themselves, and to be socially responsible citizens of the world. I think both (serving as a teacher and serving in the military) have equally rewarding impacts on the world.

READ MORE BLOGS IN THE LISTEN TO LEARN SERIES.