Kym Cienfuegos comes from a military family. Her father was a Navy Seabee for 24 years, and she grew up next to El Toro Marine base in Orange County, Calif. So, it wasn’t a huge shock to those around her when, at 25, she joined the Marines to support the effort post September 11.
At the time, Kym was working as a line manager at The Home Depot in Laguna Hills, Calif. She was able to take a military leave of absence, which meant she wouldn’t have to worry about missed vacation and pay increases.
That was the easy part. The hard part was being told by the Marines that they would not accept her because she had too many tattoos. Determined to serve in the elite Corps, she went through the painful process of having all of the tattoos on her legs removed, and was able to head off to boot camp.
Kym served two tours in Iraq. Her job was to make sure ground equipment was in good shape to serve the flight lines. That meant maintaining gear that varied from giant cranes used to replace helicopter rotors to quick engine and 
transmission changes (QECs) on the flight line. There were no breaks from the heat, the work or the risk. But, Kym felt confident knowing that she was a member of a closely knit team where everyone had each other’s back.
“Your unit is your family,” says Kym. “You can feel closer to another Marine than to your own friends and family back home.”
When she returned to the states, Kym worked to replicate that feeling in her team at The Home Depot. Her first job after serving was doing lumber pack down in Laguna Hills, Calif. Over the next five years she was promoted to the Pro department, where she now works as a supervisor helping contractors with one-stop shopping.
“I try to get to know my associates as much as I can,” says Kym. “I want to be able to accommodate them and support them when they are feeling stressed at work or at home.”
Kym embraces the military ethos of leading from the front. She makes sure that she starts and finishes with her team every day. “That’s how I saw people I respected in the Marines operate, and that’s how I try to earn the respect of my associates,” she says.
