Glen Pickens:
CLASS OF 1988
Eastwood High SchoolClass of 1988
El paso, TX
Glen's Story
Life
Life.....yes life leads us down many paths and I have been on a very wild journey with no regrets along the way. The best achievement was accepting myself for who I am and realizing that it didn't change the quality person that I always was.
I did well in school, had an incredible military career and tried marriage which just didn't work for me. Out of it though came three incredible and beautiful children.
There were some struggles and soul searching, dissapointments and loss of family because of my coming out and letting them know that I was Gay. Not a choice, just the way I was born. I accepted it and have had a very successful and happy life to this point. My children, ex-wife and her family admire my partner and we all spend the major holidays together and everything is out in the open. There are no barriers. Unfortunately, not the same for my family, but I am fine with that.
So, Life....it is all good. I have great friends, wonderful children, an incredible relationship, very very very financially secure, too many cars and no regrets.
School
Not much to really say about High School. I was more of the loaner type in a sense. Many of the friends I had were shared friends of my brothers'. I did have a select few but was pretty much in my own world. It seems all so long ago.
College
College took a back seat to the military for me. I didn't even begin to think about going to college until I realized that I didn't want to remain enlisted if I was going to stay in the military. College life didn't really start for me untill 1995. I graduated from Widener University in 1998 with a BSN and then gained my commission in the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps. I later went back to school and obtained a Master's Degree in Health Services Management as well as an MBA with and emphasis in Human Resources Management. Believe it or not, I am still going to college. I guess I am addicted to education. I might just pursu and MSN to become a Practicioner. Undecided at this point.
Workplace
Wo...Expand for more
rking for the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in their Dialysis Unit serving our veterans who fought for our freedom. A challenging yet exciting job. The benefits are not to shabby either and the salary is beyond the imaginable especially if you are Master's prepared.
If any of you reading this are Vets, utilize your benefits at the VA. They really are there for you and it is a great place to work!
Military
I joined the military right out of high school. I went in enlisted and came out as an Officer. I just retired in April 2005 with a very nice retirement. College certainly paid off and was worth the wait with the military flipping the bill.
I did get to see the world. I was in the Gulf War and initially worked as a Legalman seeing many people being sent to the brig for espionage, drug abuse, rape, murder etc, etc. It was interesting doing Courts-Martials while floating out in the Red Sea while watching the fires burn on-shore from all of the oil refineries that had been bombed.
I was stationed in the Philippines and even learned to speak the native language Tagalog and can still speak it to this day...that was 16 years ago. I had the unfortunate pleasure of being there when Mt. Pinatubo erupted and we got hit with a Typhoon at the same time as well as 250 seismic tremors. A natural disaster I lived through that I will never forget.
Of course was stationed in great places Stateside like Bremerton, WA...of course was there when we got hit by a 7.2 Earthquake....then moved to San Diego where we had one of the biggest wildfires to hit the area in many years because some fool let off a flair...that was October 2003.
Does it sound like Natural Disasters follow me? Hey, I wasn't in Louisiana for Katrina, so that was not my doing.
Anyway, my military career was great. It was cut 3 years short because I suffered a pretty severe back injury which later required my lower spine to be fused with six pedicle screws and three rods. I medically retired, but again...no regrets.
Register for Free to view all details!
Yearbooks
Register for Free to view all yearbooks!
Reunions
Register for Free to view all events!
Photos
