Though she may be young and her rank may be small, Aviation Electrician's Mate Airman Apprentice Nickita Mendoza is not letting those things get in the way of achieving big things while serving aboard USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77).

Hailing from San Antonio, Texas, 19-year-old Mendoza originally wanted to become a police officer, but decided to enlist in the Navy to see new places. She became an AE to try something new.

"I originally wanted to be a Master-at-Arms, but I figured since I could be a police officer in San Antonio, I decided to try something different," said Mendoza. "But I still want to be a police officer someday."

Mendoza works for Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department (AIMD)'s IM-3 division in the generator shop with five other Sailors who work 12-hour shifts fixing generators that are used in aircraft during missions.

"We run the generator control units out of the F/A-18's on the aircraft engine component test set," said Aviation Electrician's Mate 1st Class Martin Rusek, leading petty officer of the generator shop. "We spin them up to about 28,000 RPM and run a series of tests on them to make sure they work properly.

"Our most common issue is that they tend to fry out. We're actually handling about triple the load of the last ship to deploy." Rusek spoke highly of Mendoza, praising her strong work-ethic and ability to juggle multiple tasks and keep a good attitude about her.

"Mendoza got here in April and really hit the ground running," said Rusek. "She's working on all her DC and 3M qualifications, and she's close to getting her air warfare pin. I can't stress how vital she has been. She's not even eligible for the 3rd class exam yet, and she's already pushing hard. She does the jobs that nobody else wants to do, taking out the trash, delivering laundry, all those things. But she does them without complaining and gets her shop work done on top of it all."

In addition to her work and qualifications, Mendoza has also been doing classes through Navy College Program for Afloat College Education, working toward her degree.

"Right now I'm taking English 1302 and Western Civilization," said Mendoza. "I'm working toward a degree in criminal justice, but right now I'm just getting the baseline classes done. I'd like to go into criminal justice, maybe corrections or the FBI someday, but I'll start off as a police officer."

Mendoza demonstrates that no matter where you are in your life or career, you can still make a difference by making the most of your skills and improving yourself.

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