ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. — "I don’t think you should be limited," explained Gloria Dent.
She believes in empowering others. When you look around her office you see countless medals and certifications.
"I want people to come to my office and know anything is possible. I put the accolades up not because of what I did but because I know what they can do," she said.
She dedicates her life to this mantra that's why she created iCommunity Connections. Through this non-profit, they help others find success by connecting them to resources in their community, especially veterans.
"When you leave the military you only know about what you can get in the military and it’s a serious transition to find out what you can get in your community," she said.
Gloria knows this first hand, having served nearly 27 years in the army. She worked her way up to the highest rank, Command Sergeant Major.
"91/92 I was Desert Shield Desert Storm and in 93/94 I was in Somalia," she explained. "2001-2010 I deployed back and forth to Afghanistan, Iraq, Philippines. Four tours."
Gloria's biggest supporter throughout her entire career was her daughter, Martina.
"She was proud of her mommy in uniform, always want me to pick her up but I had to be in uniform!"
Martina was the reason Gloria got out of the military. While Martina was in college, she was shot six times in a random act of violence on campus.
"I just knew at that point I did not want to leave her....abandon her, leave her for any reason," said Gloria. "I made the decision, my daughter stood beside me for the last 20+ years of my career there's no way I’m going to leave her."
Martina physically healed but mentally continued to struggle. When Gloria came back, she explained how her daughter was withdrawn and depressed. Because of Martina's battle, Gloria decided to add to her non-profit. They help people with disabilities and young adults 16-25, which experts say that's when behavioral health issues tend to develop.
"We started doing a lot of work because of Martina to make sure people understand the trauma psychology and the biology of the trauma that’s associated with that," said Gloria.
iCommunity Connections helps people locally get jobs and veterans all over the world by giving them guidance and direction. They even supply food and clothes to those in need throughout Anne Arundel County.
"I really think the world can be a better place if we just put our best effort forward," said Gloria. "I want to be the person that creates opportunities and opening doors so there aren’t firsts anymore."
Gloria helped with legislation to help veterans transition into civilian life, especially those injured. Now, he goal is to create legislation to help homeless female veterans.
To learn more about what she does and how you can help, go to icommunityconnections.org.
