Some people go through life never knowing what career field is right for them; Navy Counselor 1st Class Danielle Weisner is not one of those people.

Now, her drive and focus aimed at helping her fellow Sailors make the most of their careers has earned her Sailor of the Year honors for Fleet Readiness Center Southeast.

"I love being a career counselor," she said. "When you have a Sailor who's been having a hard time getting that C-WAY quota and then you tell them, 'Hey, we got this to work out for you,' or when they earn that promotion - I just love seeing it."

Weisner has known she wanted to join the Navy since she was a child. Her mother, a retired Senior Chief, took her to work with her when she was still on active duty.

"It was the first taste of the Navy I'd actually seen from her side of it, other than just being the children who moved around or at the family picnics that they did," she said. "When we left that day, I told her I wanted to join the Navy."

Her mother rightfully doubted her sincerity at the time, but Weisner stuck to her guns.

"I made the decision my senior year in high school," she said. "So I went to a recruiting station with my dad and signed up.

"I knew I wasn't ready for college, but I wanted to do something productive."

To say she's been productive would be putting it mildly.

She serves as the career advisor and information manager across three FRCSE geographical locations, accounting for 911 personnel. In 2017 alone, submissions she championed for her fellow Sailors resulted in two Blue Angels selections, a Seaman to Admiral-21 Nurse Corps selection, three selections for conversion to cryptologic technician-networks and many others.

She developed training programs for her career information team and 32 divisional career counselors.

In addition, Sailors under her charge received awards including Junior Sailor of the Year, Blue Jacket of the Quarter, two Junior Sailors of the Quarter and five Sailors of the Month. Her Sailors also had a 100-percent college enrollment rate and 100-percent Physical Fitness Assessment pass rate.

It's been a lot of work for the married mother of two. NC1 Weisner credits much of her success to the chief petty officers who've mentored her along the way.

"I believe the things that you need to be a great Sailor and leader are to be patient, you need to be proactive and you need to be positive," said Maintenance Master Chief Fred Flaherty. "NC1 Weisner has all three of those things.

"She's the backbone of our admin department, ensuring that our Sailors get up to date information for their careers and where they need to go."
FRCSE Commanding Officer Capt. Trent DeMoss said that Weisner has excelled at a level expected of a seasoned chief petty officer.

"Petty Officer Weisner epitomizes those admirable qualities most sought in today's Sailors," DeMoss said. "She is one of the strongest junior deck-plate leaders that I have observed during my 27-year tenure of naval service."

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