Thank you so much for visiting my fund page. My goal is to raise $10,000 for the Merivis Foundation before Veteran's Day. Why?

Please read on to learn more about me and about the Merivis Foundation, which is helping Veterans to succeed after they leave military service.

About Me

I’m fourth-generation Navy. My family has served in the military for over 100 years. Ever since the age of 5, I knew I wanted to be a part of that family tradition. I wanted to be like my Dad and my Grandfather. I never got the opportunity to meet my Great-Grandfather, but I wanted to make him proud as well. As I grew older, that desire grew into a need to serve something greater than myself. It endowed my life with purpose, and with meaning. I was commissioned as a Navy Officer in June of 1999 and went on to graduate from Navy flight school and earn my Naval Flight Officer wings of gold. I’ve been serving ever since.

As I near my twentieth year of active-duty service and contemplate my retirement from the Navy, I face a scary and challenging period in my professional and personal life: transitioning to a career in the civilian world. Having been surrounded by the military since birth, it is all I know. I began to question whether I had the skills necessary to compete with peers who have been in the civilian job market as long as I’ve been in the military. How could I hope to succeed, let alone find a career that gives me the purpose and meaning that I sought and found in the military?

Enter Salesforce and their Trailblazer Community. I happened upon Salesforce by chance and soon discovered that they were much more than just a software-as-a-service company. Their corporate culture inspires the members of their extended family to give back to the community and to each other. They provide careers and career resources for Veterans. After learning as much as I could about Salesforce, I knew that I had found a career that could be professionally as well as personally rewarding and meaningful. But how could I break into the tech industry when I had absolutely no experience and no tech industry connections. In the civilian job market, I’ve often heard it said that it’s “all about who you know”, and I didn’t “know” anyone.

Soon after, I discovered the Merivis Foundation through a fellow Veteran who had participated in their career development program. I learned that they provide hands-on Salesforce training for Veterans. But more than that, they provide them help with branding, with communicating their story, and with securing employment opportunities in the Salesforce career marketplace. I applied for the program and was accepted!

I’ve just finished their five-week training program and will sit for my Salesforce Administrator certification exam next week. As I contemplate the future after serving my country for the past twenty years, I’m not longer fearful of it. I’ve found the key to my professional transition and Merivis has played a fundamental role in it. But they’ve given me much more than just training and employment resources, they’ve accepted me into their family of Alumni and pledged to support my professional success in the future.

After giving Veterans like me so much, I’d like to ask you to consider helping them continue their service to Veterans. In honor of Veterans Day and the sacrifices made by them to secure our freedom over the course of this country’s tumultuous history, please make a donation in any amount that you feel comfortable. All donations are tax deductible.

Thank you very much for visiting my page and for considering donating.

David Scott Nava

Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy

Naval Flight Officer

Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan

Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines

Operation Northern Watch

About Merivis

The Merivis Foundation supports Veterans by preparing them for their next missions through training, mentorship and job readiness for Salesforce cloud technology positions. With a growing need for Salesforce certified professionals and an increasing number of underemployed Veterans in the country, they bridge the gap to help Veterans transition to civilian life and find rewarding careers. Since they started in 2015, Merivis has impacted the lives of nearly 100 military Veterans by supporting them in their transition to civilian careers. With your help, this number will continue to grow!

Please celebrate Veterans and acknowledge their sacrifices with Merivis on Saturday, November 10th at the Accenture Memorial Walk benefitting Merivis.

Thank you to KLRU for featuring Sheldon Simmons, Merivis Foundation board member and graduate of the first Merivis cohort in their American Graduate series. To view more stories from the KLRU series "American Graduate: Getting America to Work" visit klru.org/americangraduate