WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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I'm Wendy Gray, a space and 
project manager 

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for the Office of the Inspector General.

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DHS was a fairly new agency,

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when I was looking for a new position,

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and I thought it would be great
to seek out a...

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not so much a new profession

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but to kind of go and enhance

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my project management skills.

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My typical day....

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My typical day....

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Some days, most days,
I feel like a firefighter.

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I put out a lot of fires.

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I ...

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my day sometimes can start at 10 p.m.

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depending on what site I'm on.

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My day can
sometimes can start in full gear.

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And when I say full gear,
I mean construction boots,

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hard hat, safety vests.

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It just depends on the site

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that I'm on and how we're going about what
we're doing, whether we're

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doing a full construction or whether we're
revamping a site that we're on.

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I have a special place in my heart

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for mentoring and volunteering,
and I've done quite a bit of it

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over the years.

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In my own personal life
and with Blacks in Government.

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I currently serve as the President of
Blacks in Government for the DHS chapter.

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And through that chapter I have initiated

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quite a few things that we've done
in the last couple of years.

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One of the things that is very,
very dear to my heart

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is the the fellowshipping

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and helping out through the SOME program
and through the SHARE program.

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Both of those organizations feed people
here in the Washington metropolitan area.

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My dad
was killed when I was five years old,

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and my mom

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moved from Wilmington, Delaware to D.C.

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where she had two sisters.

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And here she raised my brother
and I, as a single parent.

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I was held accountable
for all of my actions at an early age.

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So it makes me

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in my conscious mind
to be held accountable

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for my actions today.

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My mom.

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My mom is the most influential person
I know.

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She's always taught us to make sure

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in your daily walk of life
that you help at least one person.

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And that has

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probably the reason

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I help so many people 
in my daily work life,

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in my volunteering, and what I do.

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It all stems from the way
that I was taught from my mom.

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You know.

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She taught us to have faith in God.

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And through that it will it'll make
you pray a lot, it'll make you be strong.

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Remain in character.

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Keep your integrity.

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Remember who you are first.

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Always remain true to yourself.

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Know what the mission of DHS is
when you begin to carry it out

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and make sure it's something
that you want to do.

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And if it is, be
true to the mission of DHS.