Meet the Members Monday- Monica M

Hola! My name is Monica Malof and I am the proud wife of Farid Ali Malof, MSII, Air Force, no prior service. Farid and I met on a blind date set up by my best friend for our sophomore year Homecoming Dance. After a couple of group dates we soon discovered we had quite a lot in common and who would have known I would be spending the next 12 years of my life (and counting) by his side. We were lucky to both attend the University of California, San Diego and get many chances to travel together to places like my home country of Guatemala, Mexico, Japan and Vegas whenever possible. After college, Farid worked for a pharmaceutical company and discovered that research was not his thing. He then worked for CARE ambulance as an EMT and soon told me he now knew his true calling was to be a doctor and help others through a career in the military. That decision made 2011 the most exciting year of our lives: getting commissioned, planning a wedding in a couple of months at the Buddhist Temple of San Diego, quitting our jobs, taking him to the airport on 4^th of July for COT, packing and grabbing our dog Kiyoko (half Akita, half German Shepard) for my first trip across the US (an adventure with which the Spouses Club helped me greatly). Currently, I work at USUHS at the Graduate Education Office alongside the lovely and vivacious Maj Harris and Dr. Metcalf. I couldn’t have asked for better co-workers, who make me look forward to going to work every day. Both Farid and I are so thankful to the military for giving us such wonderful opportunities to travel and become part of the USUHS family making such meaningful friendships along the way, not to mention having better healthcare, financial stability, and so many other benefits that we now enjoy. We so look forward to starting the next chapter of our lives together and to all the adventures that military life has to offer.