Meet Christina, veteran and Schwab intern

If life is a series of chapters in one’s personal book, Christina is writing an amazing life story. She grew up as a Navy brat before completing her undergraduate degree in psychology at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. Christina was on an ROTC scholarship, and after graduation joined the Army and was deployed to Bosnia from Germany as a part of Operation Joint Forge.

“I served on active duty for four years and was a part of an attack helicopter squadron,” says Christina. “I was the personnel officer for as many as 460 soldiers during that operation. I was very proud to serve my fellow soldiers and my country.”

After her service, Christina used her veteran’s benefits to go to cosmetology school, which led her to a 15-year career working in a very successful salon in the Houston area.

“I loved my salon career,” says Christina. “I loved making people feel beautiful and confident. But due to a significant medical event, I needed to change careers and decided to go back to school to help give back to my family and community.”

These days Christina is working on a master’s degree in professional accountancy at The University of Texas at Arlington. It was that program that led her to the Schwab Intern Academy, where she is now working in Internal Audit supporting the Charles Schwab Banks.

Away from work and school, Christina is married and proud of her 13-year-old daughter. She’s also a passionate volunteer who’s in her ninth year serving on the Armed Forced Appreciation Committee for the World’s largest Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. But perhaps one of the most unique parts of Christina’s already individual story is that she was a winner on a very famous game show.

“I was on Wheel of Fortune and won!” says Christina. “I tried for quite a while to be selected and finally was able to appear during Veteran’s Week, which was special to me. I actually won a vacation and a sizeable amount of money.”

It’s Christina’s positive attitude and resilience that stand out most and are two of the important qualities she’s bringing to this year’s Schwab Intern Academy.

“I think my time at Schwab has been very special. What stands out to me is that Schwab focuses on celebrating the unique skills and experiences we each bring to the table, and using those qualities to help us grow.”