Meet The Members- Claire M

Hi! My name is Claire Mann, my husband Ryan is a first year in the Army and we have an 18 month old son named Peter.
  
Where are you “from”? Where do you consider “home”? Ryan and I are both from Puyallup, WA  

What’s your educational background? Paul Mitchel Hair School - I have a salon in my home and doing hair here!  

What are your hobbies/interests? Peter, cooking/nutrition, hair, painting/arts, exercise  

How long have you and your spouse been married/together? 4 years - since Sept. 26th  

Does your spouse have any prior service? Where has he/she been stationed? None! 

I terms of military life, there honestly hasn't been much change in our lives since moving from Utah. Ryan worked full/part time and was in school full time and also a father full time, so I see him about as often now as then.  Financially, life has been a breeze. I can't imagine having to stress about loans now. It definitely allows for a more carefree life! (We made sure to not go into any debt with Ryan's undergraduate, so we were poor)

 My father is a pathologist in the Army still, so I have grown up living a military life. He was fortunate enough to never be deployed...so that will be new to me when Ryan is. I am loving the DC area, everyone in the SSC, Ryan's classmates, our neighborhood and life here so far.

Meet the Members Monday- Molly G

Hi! I’m Molly Grasso – my husband Ian is a 4th year Navy medical student. I'm honored to serve as your Vice President – my first year I served as the Adult Social Chair (fun!), and 2nd year I was the President (fun! work!).  I hail from the oh-so-lovely Evergreen State (that’s the OTHER Washington), more specifically a suburb of Seattle called Bellevue.  Ian is a good ole’ Midwestern boy – spending his childhood in Michigan and Iowa, with a brief stint in Las Vegas.  

I went to the University of Washington in Seattle (Go Huskies) and Ian went to the Naval Academy in Annapolis (Beat Army).  After school, I moved to DC and have been here ever since. Ian is prior service, and  spent his time floating around the world on a ship (not a boat, I’ve been corrected) serving as a Surface Warfare Officer based out San Diego.  

We met each other in DC while Ian was on shore duty (a.k.a. Navy “Light”) teaching the tender and impressionable minds of Naval Academy Midshipmen the ins and outs of Seamanship and Navigation.  Our first date was sushi and pottery painting -  It was pretty much love at first sight and we got married in 2009 in Annapolis with all the traditional Navy bru-ha-ha.
Ian is just about a month away from finding out which residency he will get - he's most interested in Internal Medicine (with an end goal of going into cardiology) and we'd like to stay here in the DC Area.  

We have an awesome little 9 month old boy, Graham, and I'm lucky enough to be a stay at home mom. It is both the toughest and best job I've ever had!  

Other than that, we have two dogs; both scruffy rescues.  Cooper – a 7 year old golden retriever and Bailey – a 10 year old greyhound. I love to cook, craft, and entertain.  If I haven’t met you yet, I look forward to doing so soon!!

November Announcements

Meet the Members Mondays- Nicole

Hi! My name is Nicole and my husband Romon is an MS2 Air Force. We moved to the DC area last year from Atlanta, Ga., but I’m originally from Pennsylvania (the Poconos), and Romon from Florida. Although we’ve been together since college (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University), we just recently got married. When I’m not home hanging out, I’m working as an airline pilot for ExpressJet Airlines (we’re the regional jets that fly for Delta, United, and American). I’ve seen most of the United States, plus a few other countries, thanks to my job, and I imagine I’ll get to see so much more now being a military spouse. I’ve been flying for ExpressJet for almost 8 years, and before that I was a flight instructor (still am). This year will be spent “learning” all of the ins and outs of the military (since I wasn’t a “dependent” up until getting married, I neglected to learn a lot about the military, pay, etc.). I will be moving to San Antonio in the beginning of 2014 to accompany my husband on most of his rotations, before coming back to DC in October.

In my spare time, I enjoy kickboxing and any other form of working out, eating, cooking, traveling, and meeting new people. I am the Adult Social chair this year, along with my co-chair Minji Park. We’ve already had some awesome events to date, and look forward to seeing everyone at future events! Since joining the SSC over a year ago, I’ve made some amazing friends, learned a lot of new things, and gotten to see many new places in the DC area.