Without a family legacy of service, Hyman’s path to the Air Force is unique. Also noteworthy is that she ended her senior year of ROTC as a new mother. By the time she commissioned in 2010, she was a mother of four.
Today, Hyman and her husband, Darius, have five children. Darius served in the Marine Corps and Navy. Today, he is an entrepreneur.
The major met her future husband during college. Darius joined the Marines right after high school, and his knowledge of the military helped her make the career leap.
In 2012, the couple started a fitness company, and Darius focuses on career roles that can adapt with changes of station. Hyman said it is important that she and Darius include their children in the decision of where to move.
“I want them to have a choice before I say, ‘Air Force, this is where I want to go,’” she said.
Before requesting her move to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the major served at Eglin AFB, Florida, and Naval Air Station Paxtuxent River, Maryland. The children all had a role in choosing to move to Florida, Maryland and Ohio, respectively.
Eglin was where she accepted her first program manager role. Hyman is now a Level II program manager and actively working on obtaining the Level III Acquisition Professional Certification.
Like everyone, the major and her coworkers adapted to a new normal during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hyman was promoted to major in May during a virtual ceremony. Splitting her time between telework and traditional on-base desk duty is working well, without losing the team’s battle rhythm. One significant change is overseeing her children while they learn-from-home.
“My kids are in public school, but they are doing it all online and I’m their learning coach. I have to sign them in and log their attendance,” said Hyman. “I don’t have to come up with their curriculum, but I do have to make sure they are doing the work.”
During her at-home days, the major does her acquisition training and other work-related tasks while her children study. Juggling a complex career while also ensuring everyone stays safe at home during a global pandemic are just two examples of the challenges Hyman has faced during her 10 year journey in uniform. Her time as an undergrad at a historically black college or university (HBCU) was very similar to the way she grew up. Joining the Air Force meant new people, new cultures and new rules. Through it all, she has stayed grounded to her personal truth that family is the most important thing.
“For me, my family comes first,” Hyman says. “I love the Air Force and what I do, but I do not place my career aspirations over my family and that can be a personal struggle I have to make each time I accept a job. It’s a challenge to balance between my personal life and my professional life to bring impact and to do it with integrity. But, it’s worth every struggle.”
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