They had six particular motivations and six diverse stories. But they all left with the shared opportunity to achieve something better. Every time, this result brings a smile to Operations Specialist 2nd Class Christian De Knikker -- knowing that the people who walk into his Navy recruiting station can also walk out to a different future.

"I had a young man who came in my office and said, 'I want to be a part of something that is about more than me. I want to be able to serve, and I want to be able to give back. What can I do?" said De Knikker, a native of Woodland, California. This particular person went on to join the Navy's nuclear power program.

Another young man wanted to find a way to higher education.

"He said that one of the reasons he was joining was because it would mean he was the first person in his family to go to college. Yet at the same time he was able to serve his country. As he told me, 'I think that's a pretty fair deal,'" said De Knikker.

In finding a path to help others, De Knikker has found his satisfaction. He has been able to change the lives of six local men and women during his short time at Navy Recruiting Station Bartlett, Tennessee, which is part of Navy Recruiting District (NRD) Nashville. He volunteered for a recruiting tour both to challenge himself and to help others do the same.

And he is not alone in trying to make a change. It is a purpose that is shared in the very place he calls home. Shortly after he arrived at his new duty station, his wife, Moncerrat, was hired as an Intake Case Worker for Shelby County Child Support, 30th Judicial District, where she has found her passion helping others.

"I love what I do," she said. "I enjoy when people come into my office with a problem and leave there satisfied with the service I provided. It's rewarding to know you can make a difference in someone's situation, regardless of how big or small."

Serving the community has become their routine and a way to complement one another's missions.

"We are both helping people in the Memphis area in their daily lives. She is helping to make sure that children are being supported and that is crucial to helping single parents in our area," he said. "I like to think that maybe one of my future applicants will come from that single parent home and I will help them further."

However, De Knikker is quick to point out that they aren't doing anything he wouldn't expect of others.

"We see ourselves as just people who are doing our job and doing the best we can to help those around us get where they need to go," he said. "I'm just a 23-year-old kid. I'm not a superhero."

Yet he recognizes the responsibility of the task - helping to build the future of the Navy. For all the ups and downs of recruiting, he said he can help ensure that the defense of the country is left in not only willing but capable hands.

"It can be long hours and hard days, but all it takes is just reminding yourself that what you are doing is not only positively influencing a person but also the Navy in general. We are tasked with putting only the best people in and I know that every one of my future Sailors will be successful. These are people that are ambitious and really want to gain something more than they had in life. I see it in their faces," he said.

So with each new face and new story, he reminds himself: "There is that responsibility to the job but there is also that reward. I like that the opportunities that were given to me as a young man, I am now able to pass on to someone else."

NRD Nashville is one of 13 districts which make up Navy Recruiting Region East. More than 100,000 square miles are assigned to NRD Nashville including counties in Tennessee, Arkansas, northern Alabama, northern Georgia, northern Mississippi, southern Kentucky and Southwestern Virginia.

For more information on NRD Nashville, visit us at http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/nashville/ or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NRD.Nashville/.
For more news from Navy Recruiting District Nashville, visit www.navy.mil/.