Amy Pietrowski

Following her honorable discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps at the rank of corporal, Pietrowski completed an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Mississippi. She took time off from her career after her two children were born, and later returned to the workforce. A native of Michigan, Pietrowski joined the U.S. Marine Corps at age 18 during the first Persian Gulf War. She was one of only 2,200 women serving in the Marine Corps at the time. She completed boot camp at Parris Island in Port Royal, South Carolina, followed by her Military Occupational Specialty training in communication at the 29 Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in San Bernardino County, California. During her four years of active military service, Pietrowski was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, with deployments to Thailand, Korea and the Philippines. Her work included serving as a communication center supervisor at supply and logistics bases in the Pacific region. She received extensive training on firearms, close combat and weapons systems. When Hurricane Katrina struck Mississippi in 2005, Pietrowski was hired to serve as a FEMA crisis counselor in the Jackson, Mississippi, area. Her work included searching for those who had been displaced by the storm and helping them connect with resources for mental-health counseling and financial assistance. She remained in the Jackson area and went on to become a teacher and intervention specialist in local public school systems. There, she taught in traditional classrooms as well as working one-on-one with bilingual students, minorities, and those in danger of dropping out of school.