During The Home Depot Foundation’s Operation Surprise campaign, we’re celebrating our brave service men and women by spotlighting the military members in our orange family. In the coming weeks, former and active-duty military and spouses share their stories and career experiences working at The Home Depot.
Ashley Jackson is a Home Depot associate, college senior and member of the Army National Guard.
A native of suburban Chicago, Ashley relocated to Georgia and started working at the Repair Liquidation Center in McDonough a little over four years ago. She joined the Guard in December 2017 after learning about it from a fellow associate.
“Like many, my first experience with anything military related was when the recruiters visited our high school, telling us about all of the benefits the military offers.” Ashley explains. “I did not become serious about joining until one of my coworkers at Home Depot told me about her experiences in the Army National Guard.”
“I joined the military while working for Home Depot and they were extremely supportive of me enlisting. When I came back from training it was like I never left. I was able to continue in my same position with the same schedule. Even now they work around my drill schedule, so I am allowed enough time to prepare for my drill weekends.”
Ashley earned a promotion from General Warehouse Associate to Repair Research Specialist after two years. She is preparing for her next role as a General Office Associate at a new Atlanta-area distribution center opening soon. Ashley has yet to be deployed with the Guard, but she looks forward to it, along with starting her new Home Depot position and completing her Criminal Justice degree.
“I saw a quote recently that caught my eye. It said something like, ‘Why would I quit today when tomorrow might be the day that I win?’ And that really spoke to me because we all have those times when we feel like giving up on something, whether it be school, work or a goal. But you never know when that dream you are thinking about giving up on will come to fruition,” says Ashley. “So, to all my fellow associates: keep pushing towards whatever you want to achieve. It may not come when you ‘want’ it to, but it will come when you are truly ‘ready’ to receive it.”
The Home Depot is proud to employ more than 35,000 veterans and military spouses throughout the company. Since 2011, The Home Depot Foundation has invested more than $350 million in veteran causes and improved more than 48,000 veteran homes in more than 4,500 cities. To learn more about our veteran initiatives, please visit HomeDepotFoundation.org. If you’re a veteran looking for career opportunities at Home Depot, visit www.careers.homedepot.com/military.
