Women Veterans Day is June 12. Celebrate from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the college’s three Veterans Resource Centers: Spring Creek Campus, room D200; Central Park Campus room B122C/D; Preston Ridge Campus room F141. Stop by for a cookie while they last, or watch a free movie featuring women veterans.
When Pamela Minot tells the story of Molly Pitcher, it is almost as if she was there on the battlefield alongside her heroine.
“During the Revolutionary War, Pitcher carried water to the troops on the battlefield,” Minot said. “You had to swab out the old cannons because the barrels would get hot. Her husband was incapacitated, and she took his place in the battle. She was the one swabbing the cannon. She inspires me because of her willingness to do what it took to get the job done in hard conditions. What I did doesn’t compare to what others do in the military. I wish I could have done more,” Minot said.
Minot started her military career as a unit supply specialist working in logistics. She was active duty Army from May 2012-August 2015. She traveled to Germany and also served on the border of north and south Korea. Since May 2017, she has served as an Army Reserve Specialist with the 490th Civil Affairs Battalion.
Minot realizes that it may be difficult for civilians to understand the camaraderie among those who have served their country in the military.
“If I didn’t join the military, I would have regretted it,” Minot said. “When you eat, sleep, shower and work with the same people, the friendships you form are just incredible. You meet really cool people you never would have met otherwise. For me, it was a place of belonging that you don’t always find. There is nothing like it in the civilian world.”
She used the GI bill to attend Collin College. She graduated May 2016 with an associate of arts degree and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Dallas Baptist University in May 2018. She plans to earn a master’s degree and ultimately become a licensed, professional counselor.
It isn’t too surprising that Minot decided to enter the military. She loves American history, one of her grandfathers served in the Chilean Navy, the other served in the American Navy, and her brother served in the Army.
Minot is especially grateful to those who welcome the military home because she has been on both sides of the greeting line. As a child in Bangor, Maine, she was part of a church group that traveled to the airport to greet soldiers who were coming back from Desert Storm. On her way back from Germany, she and her fellow soldiers traveled through Bangor, Maine.
“It was 2:30 a.m., and retired people met every single service member. People had flags, and they gave us pins with The Lord’s Prayer and talked to us. It was cool because I had done that when I was nine.”
Minot’s full-circle story is a prime example of her personal creed to serve others and make the world a better place.
“You don’t have to be in the military to serve,” Minot said. “You can be a teacher or be the best citizen that you can be. I think we can make a difference whatever we do. You can also take the things you learned in the military and apply them to the civilian world. I strive to do that now.”
From Nuclear Munitions to Nursing School
Like Minot, Abby Fauber has a patriotic family. Her mother’s brother and father both served in the Air Force, and her father’s father served in the Army. Fauber served as a nuclear munitions specialist in the Air Force.
“I picked nuclear weapons because that’s what my grandfather, Winfred Mason Crim, did,” she said. “He was career military, was wounded on D-Day and received a purple heart. He is in some textbooks.”
Watching the twin towers fall in 2001 had a tremendous impact on Fauber.
“I remember seeing the second plane hit. We thought it was a replay,” Fauber said. “That really reinforced that I wanted to go into the Air Force. I was upset. I wanted to do something to help.”
After an honorable discharge from the military, Fauber dreamed of becoming a nurse. For the last five years she has worked as a dispatcher. A single mother, she struggled to support her son.
“There were days when I worked, slept in the car, went to class, then slept for three hours and went back to work,” she said.
When she found out she was accepted into the Collin College Nursing Program she couldn’t believe it.
“I had to pinch myself for 72 hours. I was in disbelief. I actually made it in after all that hard work. I was walking around in and out of a dream state. I would say every now and then, ‘I’m in.’ Collin was my first choice for nursing school. It is the best nursing college in the area, and everybody knows it.”