HEADQUARTERS, NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – On Wednesday, March 27, guest speaker Serelda Herbin, Naval Air Systems Command’s (NAVAIR) director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) held an interactive presentation celebrating women’s achievements in honor of Women’s History Month.
“Sometimes achievements are not coming in the right path or in the right way that we would want them to come,” she said. “But we still have to continue to thrive if we think about the history of Women’s History Month and the accomplishments that have happened by women.”
Herbin began her presentation sharing her untraditional upbringing, surrounded mostly by women.
“My mom was a drug addict and my dad introduced her to drugs,” she said. “So my grandmother raised me along with five or six grandkids, my first cousins. We all grew up as sisters and brothers. I was not raised around many men and my exposure to male leaders came later in life either in the classroom – my band director, my principal, or someone of that nature. I was raised by strong women.”
Herbin said her grandmother only finished fourth grade but insisted Herban go to school and study computer information systems. On that advice, she attended Grambing State University on a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship. She later switched fields and earned her MBA from Webster University and a doctorate from Regent University.
“My grandmother was my hero,” she said. “When you have women in your life like that you want to honor them, so I honor her today.”
Her grandmother also told her to get a good husband to take care of her.
“She said women don’t have a voice in certain spaces,” she said. “Women in her day didn’t have the opportunity to get a credit card, get a loan or go out in public on their own. That gives us an opportunity to reflect on where we were and where we are now.”
Herbin began her military career in the Army as a commissioned second lieutenant at the Air Defense Artillery in El Paso, Texas. She described sitting down at her commander’s office as he explained to her that his mom was a reformed racist and his dad was still working on it.
“He said I’m still working with black females that are educated and in the military as officers,” she said. “Eight or nine months later we were deployed to Kuwait, and he commenced to forcing me to fix breakfast and coffee for people that were subordinate to me as an officer.”
She was eventually pulled out of that unit and placed elsewhere in headquarters, and he was removed from his post.
“Adversity comes in so many different ways,” she said. “When we talk about women’s history what else can we see? We see a lot of female leaders in the Navy, in the education arena – chancellors of colleges – in the highest levels of political spectrum. Before women were in menial support tasks. But we can go all the way back to some of the first wars where women were on the battlefield, they were disguised but they were still there. How often are we disguised behind closed doors to make a difference or an impact?”
Herbin told the audience to think of a woman in their lives who instructed them over their lifetime.
“It could be from the workplace, home or school, something that was very instrumental in your life,” she said. “Women have been in the space making significant contributions, impacting society and in the world for a very long time.”
The one word that she wanted the audience to remember from her presentation was fear.
“Fear is an undertone of cultures that will destroy any type of development not only in women, but across the board in the organization,” she said. “One of NAVAIR’s core values is win with inclusion and respect. Sometimes fear of saying the wrong thing can paralysis us in or efforts to move forward. This is a Women’s History Month program, but it is also a call to action for everyone that’s on this call. A call to be inclusive, respectful and be aware that women’s history continues.”
The event was hosted by Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst’s Women’s Initiative Network (Win) diversity action team.