Advertisement

Header Utility Menu

  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Events

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

  • Login

Virginia Business

Mobile Menu

  • Issues
  • Industries
    • Banking/Finances
    • Business Law
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Energy/Green
    • Federal Contracting
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Hotels/Tourism
    • Insurance
    • Ports/Trade
    • Small Business
    • Technology
    • Transportation
  • Regions
    • Central Virginia
    • Eastern Virginia
    • Northern Virginia
    • Roanoke/New River Valley
    • Shenandoah Valley
    • Southern Virginia
    • Southwest Virginia
  • Reports
    • Best Places to Work
    • Business Person of the Year
    • CEO Pay
    • Coronavirus 2020
    • Generous Virginians Project
    • Legal Elite
    • Most Influential Virginians
    • Maritime Guide
    • Site Locator
    • The Big Book
    • Virginia CFO Awards
  • Company News
    • For the Record
    • People
  • Opinion
  • Lists
  • Awards/Events
    • Diversity Leadership Series
    • Vote Now for Women in Leadership
    • Virginia 500
    • Legal Elite
    • CFO Awards
    • Big Book of Lists
    • 100 People To Meet
    • Best Places To Work
  • Virginia 500
    • Read the issue
    • Order a copy
    • Buy an award plaque
    • Nominate execs for 2021

Advertisement

Header Primary Menu

  • virginiabusiness.com
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Home News A voice for veterans

A voice for veterans

Former Miss USA understands the struggles of military women

Published June 30, 2017 by Gary Robertson

The day after Deshauna Barber buried her mother last year, she was due in New York to make back-to-back appearances on behalf of veterans’ causes, the focus of her reign as Miss USA 2016. Barber had to put on a happy face, because a sad Miss USA can’t do her job.

“I had to grieve while still chasing a dream,” she says.

A Virginia State University graduate, Barber, 27, is a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve and the first member of the military to win the Miss USA title. In May, she passed the crown to her successor, Kára McCullough, who like Barber had been Miss District of Columbia. 

Besides being African-American women representing the same city, Barber and McCullough also have both pursued careers in male-dominated, STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).  Before becoming Miss USA, Barber was an IT analyst at the U.S. Department of Commerce, and McCullough was a scientist at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Facing and overcoming adversity was one of the themes Barber planned to talk about at the Virginia Women Veterans Summit being held in late June in Chesapeake. The Virginia Department of Veterans Services sponsored the event.

She says women in the military know about adversity and the struggles involved in staying on the path they set for themselves.

During the Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas last year, Barber wowed the crowd with her answer to a question about women serving in combat. “We are just as tough as men,” she said. “As a commander of my unit, I am powerful. I am dedicated. And it is important that we recognize that gender does not limit us in the United States Army.”

Besides the loss of her mother, Barber says, she has had to face other struggles in her life, including rebuilding her self-esteem after suffering childhood sexual assault and bullying.

In connecting with business and industries throughout the past year, Barber says, she has been encouraged by their efforts to help and hire veterans. “Companies are doing what they can,” Barber says.

But she says there are still many unmet needs, especially in providing guidance for veterans as they transition from the military.

Too many veterans don’t know how to prepare for an interview, and most struggle in trying to explain how their military skills can meet the needs of civilian companies. “There aren’t enough mentors” to help vets through the process, she says, and too many vets are not finding jobs.

Mental illness, brought on by either post-traumatic stress, battlefield injuries or related reasons, plagues the veterans of several generations, Barber says.

“Mental illness contributes to the high homeless rate for veterans,” she adds, and also has been a factor in the growing number of suicides among vets.

Barber, who was promoted from lieutenant to captain in the Army Reserve during her Miss USA reign, will continue to make Washington, D.C., her home.

After joining the Army ROTC at 17, she was commissioned as a Reserve quartermaster officer in 2011 and was serving as logistics commander for the 988th Quartermaster Detachment Unit at Fort Meade, Md., at the time she became Miss USA.

Barber hopes to stay in the military an additional 14 years, until she reaches the 20-year mark and qualifies for retirement.

She is keeping up a military family tradition. Her mother and father, as well as her brother and sister, all served in the Army.

Related Stories

No related posts.

Trending

Finance/Insurance: STEPHAN Q. CASSADAY

Finance/Insurance: PAUL B. MANNING

Federal Contractors/Technology: JASON PROVIDAKES

Education: ANNE M. KRESS

Artemis I to launch with help from Va. contractors

Sponsored Stories

Why is my Less Than Truckload (LTL) freight pricing going up and my service level going down?  

Beyond Juneteenth – How Capital One is Commemorating and Implementing Change

How We Help Your Business Operate Better

Before the Breach: Get Serious About Cyber Resilience

Professionals are Discovering What it Means to Live Uniquely in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

Riverside Logistics Celebrates 25th Anniversary!

Girls for a Change Empowers Black Youth for the Future Workforce

The Jackson Ward Collective is equipping Black-owned small businesses with the tools for success

Advertisement

Advertisement

Trending

Finance/Insurance: STEPHAN Q. CASSADAY

Finance/Insurance: PAUL B. MANNING

Federal Contractors/Technology: JASON PROVIDAKES

Education: ANNE M. KRESS

Artemis I to launch with help from Va. contractors

Sponsored Stories

Why is my Less Than Truckload (LTL) freight pricing going up and my service level going down?  

Beyond Juneteenth – How Capital One is Commemorating and Implementing Change

How We Help Your Business Operate Better

Before the Breach: Get Serious About Cyber Resilience

Professionals are Discovering What it Means to Live Uniquely in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

Riverside Logistics Celebrates 25th Anniversary!

Girls for a Change Empowers Black Youth for the Future Workforce

The Jackson Ward Collective is equipping Black-owned small businesses with the tools for success

Get Virginia Business directly on your tablet or in your mailbox!

Subscribe to Virginia Business

Advertisement

Advertisement

Footer Primary Menu

  • virginiabusiness.com
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Footer Secondary Menu

  • Industries
  • Regions
  • Reports
  • Company News
  • Events

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Sign Up

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

Privacy Policy Cookie Policy

Footer Utility Menu

Copyright © 2023 Virginia Business. All rights reserved.

Site Maintained by TechArk