After the Corps: Lydia Davey

Compiled by Amy Forsythe

Lydia Davey, 33, San Francisco, Calif.
When did you serve in the U.S. Marine Corps?
Combat correspondent, 2003-2010. Sergeant.
Deployment: Afghanistan from 2006-2007
Awards: Photo of the Year in 2006
Education: B.A. in Communications from Indiana University in 2013
Current employer: Apple, Inc.
Past:  CEO of a PR firm

How did serving as a Marine help you define your professional goals?
I’d always enjoyed telling stories for good, but my time as a Marine Corps combat correspondent solidified that love and grew my soft and hard skills significantly.

What do you see yourself doing in five years?
My next role will likely be as partner at a creative agency.

What are your hobbies?
In my free time I love to camp, sea kayak, ride motorcycles (Street Triple #FTW), or host friends for a rooftop dinner in San Francisco. I also dedicate a lot of time to reading. One goal for 2017 was to read a book each week, and although I haven’t had perfect success I’ve powered through classics like Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom, M.M. Kaye’s Far Pavilions, and a number of other books on personal growth, history, and adventure.

What advice do you have for Marines who are getting out and looking to get into the media industry?
Unless you’re one of the lucky few, you likely won’t leave the Marine Corps and find a perfect fit in the civilian world. You, like me, might be encouraged to take a more junior role and work your way up. However, I believe our non-traditional backgrounds equip us to be successful as entrepreneurs. In fact, veterans are twice as likely to succeed at business ownership as civilians, according to the Small Business Administration. Managing your own business is a fantastic way to signal appropriate value to a potential future employer. I went from being a college student with mediocre employment prospects to finding ways to create significant value for others with my own PR firm to working as a content marketing manager at Apple Inc., in just four years. I’m fortunate to have had folks who pushed me to take ownership of my learning, take financial risks, and suck up my pride and ask questions. As Marines, we like to be competent and have answers, but learning how to ask the right questions and have a bit of humility when we hear tough answers is a winning combination. Don’t anticipate an easy path forward. There’s likely a lot of work between you and the right fit. Remember to carve out time to keep learning, stay fit, rest, and invest in meaningful community and adventure. You’ll be a better leader, a more interesting person, and worth more to employers if you do.