What I've Learned: Kaylei Curry

Twentynine Palms -- TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - Sgt. Kaylei Curry runs a nonprofit charity for newborns in need and is currently a watch commander at the Combat Center Provost Marshal’s Office. While attached to Marine Corps Helicopter Squadron 1 she worked 21 presidential events.

I am a watch commander at the Provost Marshal’s Office where I provide oversight during my given shift.

I originally wanted to join the Army and go to [The United States Military Academy at] West Point, but I was told I couldn’t because I wasn’t doing well academically in high school.

The reason I chose to be a military police officer was because I didn’t want to work a desk job and I wanted to carry a gun every day. When I enlisted, my recruiter said MP would be a good fit for me.

I’ve been in the Marine Corps for 6 years. After my first enlistment I just stuck with it because it is something I want to do. That’s why I’m pursuing my degree in criminal justice. I’m half way done with my bachelor’s degree in law enforcement administration.

Twentynine Palms is my second duty station. My first was with Marine Corps Helicopter Squadron 1 doing security for Marine 1, the presidential helicopter.

While I was with HMX-1, I worked 21 presidential events where I saluted President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden as they got off the steps of Marine 1, which was really neat.

We did a lot of traveling. I have been to Cambodia, Kuwait, Hawaii, Guam and all over the U.S.

I have started 2 nonprofits. The first was a military non-profit for teenage military daughters. My dad is in the Army National Guard and myself and another girl started it when we were 13. When we turned 18, it officially became a nonprofit.

The Army National Guard sent us out to different armories and bases and we spoke to different teens about deployment. Because my dad deployed so many times, we saw a need for outreach because there weren’t that many youth programs when I was growing up.

In my opinion, military children grow up faster because instead of having our parents gone on business trips they were off at war, so we had a better sense of what was going on in the world. We used our common background as the basis for that nonprofit.

Although we are the founders of the program, new teens have become the spokespeople for the program.

Right now, I am the chapter director for a local non-profit for newborns in need.

What we do is collect all kinds of baby items, new or used, for families that need it and we deliver the supplies to them.

When I had my son I realized how much money it really takes to have a baby. I could not believe the amount of people everywhere that can barely afford the basic baby essentials.

Being from California, it was sad seeing all the ads on Facebook and Craigslist asking for baby clothes and diapers so I decided to start a chapter.

My garage is full of baby products that were donated. I log everything that comes in and all of the products that we give to people. We log everything to ensure that it gets to the people that truly need it.

I give everything directly to the families. It makes everything better seeing the reactions of the people that you help out.

What I have learned from my time in the Marine Corps is that I can push myself to do things that are outside of my comfort zone. I’m at the point where the little skill sets that I learn add up and that has made me a better-rounded person.