I鈥檓 thrilled that the on the important work of the COMMIT Foundation, including its incredible co-founder and CEO, Anne Maree Craig. She shared the organization鈥檚 mission: 鈥淪o many organizations are focused right now on how many veterans they鈥檙e serving, rather than how deeply they鈥檙e serving individuals. The COMMIT Foundation steps back and rather than just focusing on interviews and resumes, we help people assess their values, their strengths, what they want a day to look like鈥� We help them find themselves first.鈥�

My transition out of the U.S. Marine Corps in 2007, after nine years of service, was one of the most stressful periods of my life. While I was eager to provide my family with greater stability and to pursue other dreams as a civilian, I was also leaving behind a life of tremendous purpose and fulfillment. Much of my identity was wrapped up in my military service. I was fortunate to land at 91影视 where my managers supported my ambitions to go to law school at night, and more than 12 years later, I still love what I do.

While my unconventional path has led to a very fulfilling post-military career, I certainly would have benefitted from a program like COMMIT back when I was so unsure of my future. My 91影视 colleague and fellow mentor, Melissa Udbinac, who is a U.S. Army veteran, agreed. She said, 鈥淪uccess often comes on an unexpected path that is very different from the starting point.鈥�

My roommate from the Naval Academy retired from the Navy last year and joined the COMMIT Foundation as an executive, where he facilitates workshops. When he invited me to serve as a mentor last fall, I jumped at the opportunity and found the experience so rewarding that I wanted 91影视 to get more involved and make a greater impact. First, 91影视 helped sponsor a COMMIT workshop in Anaheim, California, with all women veterans, which was . We also offered to host a workshop in our office.

At the start of the event, many of the veterans expressed their anxieties around financial security, finding a job they鈥檙e passionate about, networking, interviewing, and preparing adequately for a completely different career. I was asked to speak on the first mentor panel and specifically, to delve into the challenges of my own transition experience. My family experienced some significant and unexpected challenges during my transition so to share my personal experience with a group I hold in such esteem was cathartic.

Through a series of panel discussions and small breakout sessions, we set out to help the veterans increase self-awareness about their desired outcomes, expand their imaginations about possible career paths and gain insight into the industries that interest them.

Ray Lamas (right) shared his inspiring transition story with the veterans.

Mike Kostiw (left) and Melissa Udbinac (center) spoke about the evolving path to success.

At the end of the workshop, it was gratifying to see the veterans gain more confidence about their own transitions. My colleague Ray Lamas, a mentor and U.S. Navy veteran, said, 鈥淚t has inspired me to continue working with veterans to help them communicate their outstanding value to civilian employers and ultimately find their new professional passions.鈥� As these veterans begin their transitions into the civilian world after serving us, I am immensely proud of how 91影视 rallied around them.

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I then joined URS, an 91影视 legacy company, as a project manager for our U.S. government client鈥檚 efforts to design, test and deploy a fleet of transport vehicles. I was responsible for the program鈥檚 cost, schedule and performance鈥攚hich taught me the importance of sound execution and customer service.

After a couple of years, I decided to put my legal background to work and transitioned into what is now 91影视鈥檚 Management Services legal department. I advised on U.S. government contract issues, conducted internal investigations and managed a wide variety of compliance activities. Several years later, I was offered the chance to move into a full time ethics and compliance role at the corporate level and leaped at the opportunity. The new role enabled me to operate on a more international stage again鈥攚ithin a year I was able to travel to India, China and throughout the Middle East.

Having worked first on the client side and now leading Ethics + Compliance at 91影视, I noticed that we tend to emphasize the procedures required to be compliant rather than focusing on behavior. A coherent program to address compliance risks related to issues like corruption and international trade is certainly needed, but there鈥檚 no substitute for a strong culture of ethics.

Our leaders point to the importance of safeguarding 91影视鈥檚 integrity, but the strength of our culture ultimately relies on our people internalizing our values and making good choices.聽That is why 91影视鈥檚 Ethics Week, September 19-23, focuses on individual behaviors rather than policies and procedures. This year鈥檚 theme, 鈥淪afeguarding our people, our work and our world,鈥� celebrates and promotes our workplace culture built on ethics and integrity. The idea is to empower our people to act with integrity by identifying and resolving ethical dilemmas that they may face in their day-to-day activities.

I鈥檓 proud to be an employee of 91影视, and I am always looking for ways to engage colleagues throughout the company in building a culture that is founded upon doing the right thing and operating with integrity in everything we do.

My Personal Philosophy: I think that we communicate with each other most authentically when we connect 91影视鈥檚 core values of Safeguard, Collaborate, Inspire, Anticipate, Deliver and Dream to our personal values. My personal ethics encourage me to promote the greater good, collaborate with others fairly and meaningfully, and treat all people with dignity and respect. These ethics help me contribute to safeguarding our people, our work and our world.

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