This Navy veteran planned to make a full 20-year career out of the military, but as life would have it she served 6 ½ held a few stressful jobs, and then made her way to AVIAN. What Junie Nucup brings to the workplace that she learned in the Navy is teamwork, adaptability, and the power of a strong work ethic. She believes that with training on how to perform a task and empowerment to do it she can excel at anything.
Right now she working on what she wants to be when she grows up and plans to use her GI bill to expand her skill set. That might include certifications in her current field or the pursuit of her childhood dream job which is orchestrating the most beautiful and extravagant weddings you can imagine.
Learn more about our conversation with Junie and her role at AVIAN in our interview below.
1. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT ROLE AT AVIAN AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WITH US?
February 2021 will be my second anniversary supporting the NAVWAR FRD 200 [Naval Information Warfare Center, Fleet Readiness Directorate 200] as a Program Support Analyst. I’m on the Shore Team and I support all of the Pacific installations and ensure their projects are on-time, on-schedule, and funded. During COVID I’ve done a lot of work to determine what projects are mission essential and what is going to have updated or modified schedules.
2. WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST IMPACTFUL MOMENT IN YOUR CAREER THUS FAR?
Specifically for this role, I’d have to say the most impactful experience was when I traveled with my customer to the annual RISM [Regional Support Installation Managers] Working Group event in Hawaii last year. I presented at the event the weekly activity reports and detailed info of the installs. I took all of the meeting minutes and felt like I was able to capture the group’s discussions that were needed and hugely important.
3. WHAT MAKES YOU MOST EXCITED TO SUPPORT NAVWAR?
My government supervisor! He always asks what we need. He really communicates with us routinely. I love the people I work around.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT WORKING FOR AVIAN?
The people! We have a very motivating team. We come together for fun activities like lunches and baking cookies for the customers and our fun team outings. We try to stay in contact with each other as much as possible to keep that camaraderie going.
RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS:
1. NAME ONE PERSON WHO MOTIVATES YOU.
I can’t name just one so I will say my parents are my biggest motivation for me to keep going and working hard. They immigrated here to the states. My mom was 25 and my dad was 31. They brought my brother but I was left behind in the Philippines, I was 3 years old when I finally came over. I was 9 months when my parents immigrated to the U.S. My grandma raised me during that time. My mom said she’d cry all the time but they had nothing so they had to build their way up. They worked 2-3 jobs to maintain a roof over our heads and put food on the table for my brother and to bring me to the states, so their continuous hard work is what keeps me going. Never give up. Keep moving forward.
2. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE “PERK” ABOUT WORKING FOR AVIAN?
Definitely Cookies for Customers. When I joined AVIAN and learned about your company tradition of baking and delivering cookies to our customers and clients I was so excited. I love baking. Being able to do something that I love and with my fellow teammates was so much fun! I think the customers really enjoyed it too!
3. WHAT WAS YOUR CHILDHOOD DREAM JOB?
My childhood dream job was to be a wedding planner. I am big on artsy. I love being organized. I’m such a hopeless romantic…and yes, I am one of those that loves a good Hallmark movie. When they [Hallmark] announced that they were going to put their Christmas movies out in the summertime because of the pandemic I was like “yes! This is the best thing in the whole world.” The Wedding Planner with Jennifer Lopez is one of my favorite movies and so is The Wedding Date with Debra Messing. Sometimes my boyfriend will come in and see me sitting on the couch watching these movies and crying happy tears.
I’ve helped out with a lot of friend’s weddings. I have two really close friends that I’ve been friends with since 6th grade and last year was their 35th birthday. I went above and beyond planning and organizing their events. I was so excited to plan it all out for them.
4. IF YOU COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ANY CELEBRITY, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
I’ve had the biggest crush on Jason Mamoa since he was on Baywatch Hawaii and I was waiting for him to “go big” and now that he is people know who I am talking about. I just feel like he has a lot of spunk, and has a lot to put out there to the world. He has a new water company [Mananalu] so he is big on not using plastic and taking care of our planet. I also just love how he raises his kids. They are very outdoorsy. I think kids need more of that.
