Navy Spouse Turns Setbacks Into Success With Hiring Our Heroes
When Arra Grizzel Guevarra took a career break to support her husband’s Navy service and care for their child, she did not anticipate how challenging it would be to reenter the workforce. After nearly four years away from work, she found herself lost in a sea of job applications and rejection emails. The job market had changed—and she felt left behind.
Still, Arra didn’t give up.
As a Navy spouse with a background in nursing, she had already mastered resilience. She had homeschooled her child, managed a household alone during her spouse’s sea duty, and navigated life without a local support system. When the job search became overwhelming, she did what she had always done before—she kept going.
Finding a New Path
After months of frustration in her job search, Arra noticed a demand for medical coders. She applied for the My Career Advancement Account Scholarship (MyCAA), was approved, and enrolled in a Medical Billing and Coding certification program. It was a bold move—but she knew she needed more than just training.
That’s when she found Hiring Our Heroes (HOH).
Through personalized support from the HOH team, Arra reworked her resume from the ground up. She learned how to tailor her resume for applicant tracking systems (software used by companies to streamline hiring and reduce manual work) and highlight her unique strengths as a military spouse and healthcare professional. With expert resume help and encouragement from people who truly understood her journey, Arra’s confidence began to grow.
Support That Made a Difference
Arra attended an HOH Amplify event, a professional development workshop designed for military spouses. She found the Amplify sessions both energizing and empowering, giving her the confidence to transform her LinkedIn profile into a vital tool for networking.
With her new resume, optimized LinkedIn profile, and renewed energy, Arra attended an HOH Virtual Hiring Fair, where she connected with recruiters and landed multiple interviews. Soon after, things fell into place and she accepted a position as a Benefit Advocate with UnitedHealth Group.
“The view from the top is truly magnificent when your muscles hurt and you’ve struggled climbing. My hard work, dedication, and prayers have all been answered!”
–Arra Grizzel Guevarra
Thriving in Her New Chapter
Today, Arra is thriving. She completed her Medical Billing and Coding certification and started a Lean Sigma Green Belt course through Onward to Opportunity, a resource she discovered with through HOH. The certification gave her the framework to help improve productivity and organizational excellence in the healthcare industry.
Her journey was not easy, and it was filled with setbacks and doubts. But Arra’s perseverance never wavered. She showed up with determination, embraced every opportunity to learn, and never stopped believing in the future she was building.
“The view from the top is truly magnificent when your muscles hurt and you’ve struggled climbing,” Arra says. “My hard work, dedication, and prayers have all been answered!”
