Dayton woman speaks to students in Poland during International Women's Day weekend

“To have change, you have to celebrate progress.”

These were the words of Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka, the Executive Director of United Nations Women, and also the central theme of a speech given by two female American Soldiers to Polish Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Course students March 9 at the Military Education Center in Elk, Poland.

U.S. Army Reserve Maj. Olha Vandergriff, the public affairs officer from the 652nd Regional Support Group from Helena, Montana, and Nevada National Guard Command Sgt. Major Shauna Reese, command sergeant major of the 757th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, stopped by the school to share some history and life lessons learned over four decades of combined service with about 100 students, aged 15-19, of both genders. The speech was the weekend of International Women’s Day, which is held on March 8.

“I kind of told them about my progress through life and what I’ve learned, and as I celebrate that I strive for more change,” Vandergriff said.

Vandergriff shared her personal journey through the military and the five lessons she has learned from serving along the way: Be good at your job, Stay true to yourself, Go for what you want, Never stop learning, and Make a difference.

Born in the Ukraine, Vandergriff told the students she attended a school very similar to the one she addressed the students at. She described the struggle of assimilating into a new culture and learning to speak a new language after coming to the U.S. in 2002.

At Truman State University in Missouri, Vandergriff recalled a moment that changed the path of her life.

“I immigrated to the United States and when I saw the uniform on a college campus, I didn’t know exactly what it would mean for my life, but I knew that’s what I wanted to be a part of,” she said.

Vandergriff joined the ROTC program at Truman and, after graduating with a degree in marketing, commissioned as a second lieutenant. After a stint in the Recruiting Command, she deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Along the way she earned her master’s degree in marketing and served at Fort Campbell, where, as a new mother, her section was tasked with providing administrative support for more than 1,300 Soldiers. After nine years, she moved to the Army Reserve where she switched to the public affairs branch and had her second child. She ended up moving 15 times in 13 years, and learning the five lessons along the way.

“The main thing I wanted to convey to them was, whatever it is you want to do, go for it,” Vandergriff said. “Pursue your goals, write it down. Be true to yourself, because other people can tell if you’re being authentic or not.”

While Vandergriff focused on her personal progress by the way the military has changed her life, Reese focused on change. Reese, who has served in the Army National Guard for 28 years and is the highest enlisted leader of the more than 650 Soldiers serving in the 757th, opened the day by speaking on some women who changed Polish history.

“I selected four females who had a huge impact on the history of Poland,” Reese said. “I wanted to highlight some strong women in Poland who contributed to their independence.”

The four women she selected were Emilia Plater, Maria Sklodwska-Curie, Ana Walentynowicz and Christine Skarbek. Plater, who Reese said most of the students were already familiar with, is considered the “Polish Joan of Arc,” as she fought in the November Uprising against the Russian Empire in 1830. Curie, meanwhile, won two Nobel Peace prizes - one in physics and one in chemistry – and discovered the elements Radium, and Polonium (named after Poland.) Walentynowicz, known as “the mother of independent Poland,” co-founded the Solidarity trade union in Gdansk, Poland. Reese said the students were less familiar, but very interested in learning about Skarbek, a Polish woman who worked as an agent for the British Special Operations Executive and was the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s character Vesper Lynd in the James Bond stories.

She also talked with the students about the significance of the Voluntary Legion of Women, something she said she learned about after Lt. Col. David Evans, the 757th commander, received a military coin from a Polish Soldier which depicted the VLW on it. The VLW aided Polish Soldiers, including in combat, during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-21. Reese also spoke with the Soldiers about the Women's Auxiliary Service and Dysk Squad in Poland.

Additionally, Reese mentioned female American Soldiers who made an impact on the U.S. military, including Capt. Shaye Haver and Lt. Kristen Griest, the first two females to graduate U.S. Army Ranger school in 2015. She mentioned that in the United States Army, all combat roles are now open to women, and women are serving in these roles.

Reese drew inspiration from a comparison between the 316th Transportation Company, a unit that served during World War II as part of the Polish Women’s Auxiliary Service, and her own unit, the 757th. She ended her speech by stating that in the U.S. Army there is a Soldier’s Creed, and an Officer and NonCommissioned Officer Creed, and read the Creed of the 316th:

“Our vehicles will find your position
Through highland path or waterless desert
So you will not run short of ammunition
Or be ragged, thirsty, or suffer hunger.”

Reese said the 316th’s Creed represented everything her unit does.

At the conclusion of the presentation, the students asked Reese and Vandergriff questions.

“They asked me things like “How did you deal with being a mom in the Army? What is it like to do this or that? How do you balance military work and your life? How many tomes did you move? How did you pack? They asked all these questions, which was great,” Vandergriff said.
In the end, Vandergriff said connecting with the students was an experience that she will carry with her. She gathered some of their e-mail addresses to answer further questions.

“We don’t look at ourselves like we’re anything special,” Vandergriff said. “We just do our job and do our mission and do it every day. When you go to a school like this, you see the excitement in a student’s eyes and realize maybe you don’t just do your job, maybe you’re an inspiration to somebody and they can take your story and be inspired to do something more with their lives.”