Yolanda Herring
Episode 152

Narrator: Welcome friends to another episode of The Story & Experience Podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira, with his guest today, and discover the moments that shape us, our families and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, welcome friends to another episode of The Story & Experience Podcast. I'm delighted to be sitting opposite my guest today, which is always a delight to be able to sit with the person because they're smiling, which is a great sign. I'm going to begin with the first 10 questions, and then the guest gets to choose between 11 and 100 where they want to go, and they're all questions about stories and experiences that shape them into the leader that they are today. So let me begin with the first one. Could you tell us your name and does anybody ever mispronounce it?

Yolanda Herring: My name is Yolanda Herring, and yes, people have called me Yolanda many, many times, but it's Yolanda.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wait a second. I'm trying to tell, did I hear the difference? So you said Yolanda?

Yolanda Herring: Yolanda.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yolanda.

Yolanda Herring: Yolanda.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yolanda.

Yolanda Herring: It's a difference.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yolanda.

Yolanda Herring: Yes. I used to get called that by the substitute teachers in school.

Japhet De Oliveira: And you like to be called-

Yolanda Herring: Yolanda.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yolanda?

Yolanda Herring: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Am I saying it correctly?

Yolanda Herring: Uh-huh.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow, look at that, Yolanda.

Yolanda Herring: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. If I say it wrong, you're going to correct me?

Yolanda Herring: Of course.

Japhet De Oliveira: Please. Brilliant, okay. Do you correct people?

Yolanda Herring: I try not to, only if it's really needed.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right, that's great. Yolanda, what do you do for work?

Yolanda Herring: I am the administrative director of Employee and Labor Relations. I know it's a mouthful, right?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Yolanda Herring: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: For?

Yolanda Herring: For Adventist Health, yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: So employee relations, you said labor management and employee relations?

Yolanda Herring: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: So, what's that mean?

Yolanda Herring: In layman's terms employee relations is I manage all employee grievances. I manage investigations into some not so nice stuff. Yeah, all the other not so fun things when it comes to employment. And then I do the labor side too.

Japhet De Oliveira: The labor side means?

Yolanda Herring: Labor unions, so Adventist Health now has, oh gosh, I think we're up to 12 different collective bargain agreements and we have eight unions. So I help manage the labor unions.

Japhet De Oliveira: Fantastic. How did you end up doing this? Is this your chosen career? Did you fall into it? Tell me that story.

Yolanda Herring: A great, great question. I did 23 years in the Army and I did HR in the Army.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh really?

Yolanda Herring: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: So do you have to go to the military to do HR?

Yolanda Herring: I mean, that's a good question, I don't think so, but no one really understands that the military is like another Fortune 500 company. They have HR, supply chain, they have all those things. So my world was HR for those 23 years.

Japhet De Oliveira: 23 years in the Army, wow. Wow, this is interesting. Okay, Yolanda, where were you born?

Yolanda Herring: I was born in Florida, Fort Walton Beach, Florida. I know some of you are like where's that? That is next to Destin, Florida, where I'm pretty sure a lot of people go to vacation. So I was born and raised there.

Japhet De Oliveira: Good. I'll raise this, so when you were a child growing up there, what did you imagine you would to grow up to be?

Yolanda Herring: I wanted to be a lawyer.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really? Okay, all right, all right.

Yolanda Herring: I wanted to be an attorney. That was the goal.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really? Like fight in court?

Yolanda Herring: I wanted to be a criminal attorney, so yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really?

Yolanda Herring: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Did you watch a TV show as a child? Where did it come from?

Yolanda Herring: I do, Law and Order, JAG, I always loved to watch JAG and Law and Order, so yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. Did you ever end up studying a bit of law?

Yolanda Herring: I think employee relations and labor relations is about as close as you can end up being an attorney. You deal with a lot of laws.

Japhet De Oliveira: And you like writing documents as well and analyzing stuff, I've seen that.

Yolanda Herring: I do, yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Thank you. Hey, that's fantastic. All right, so are you an early riser or late night owl?

Yolanda Herring: A late night owl.

Japhet De Oliveira: And what's late night?

Yolanda Herring: 11 o'clock.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Yolanda Herring: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, all right. And then when you get up in the morning, first drink of the day? Coffee, tea, liquid green smoothie?

Yolanda Herring: Got to have some coffee.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah?

Yolanda Herring: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: How's your coffee made?

Yolanda Herring: So okay, maybe I'm not the black coffee drinker, but I like Nespresso, so a good Nespresso with a little bit of creamer. That's what I drink.

Japhet De Oliveira: Happiness.

Yolanda Herring: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. First thought that went through your mind this morning when you woke up?

Yolanda Herring: Let's see, first thought, my daughter's sick so I was thinking about her. She's in college and she's sick and so yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: But they're still a little child.

Yolanda Herring: They are. She's only 19.

Japhet De Oliveira: Even though they're grown up.

Yolanda Herring: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: I felt the same way. I was wondering why my 2-year-old was driving a car, but no, 24. Personality, would people describe you as an introvert or an extrovert and would you agree?

Yolanda Herring: Most people would probably describe me as an extrovert. I would not agree.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, okay.

Yolanda Herring: I am very much an introvert. I would like to sit home, binge-watch something, and sit there in my Lululemon pants and just do nothing.

Japhet De Oliveira: There's a lot of comfort with Lululemon.

Yolanda Herring: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's great. All right, here's a question for you about leadership. Are you a backseat driver?

Yolanda Herring: I try not to be a backseat driver. I like to give out the task at hand, let my team do it, and if they need help I'm there to support them.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, all right. Good stuff. All right, let's dive in then, shall we?

Yolanda Herring: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: So which number would you like to go first?

Yolanda Herring: Five.

Japhet De Oliveira: Five. Oh actually, sorry, the first 10 I did.

Yolanda Herring: Oh, well, okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: So you have to go with 11 upwards.

Yolanda Herring: Let's go to 12.

Japhet De Oliveira: 12, all right. What is your favorite movie or book of all time and why?

Yolanda Herring: Oh gosh, I'm a movie junkie, so... Top Gun.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh yeah?

Yolanda Herring: Absolute love Top Gun.

Japhet De Oliveira: One or two?

Yolanda Herring: Both, I really love Tom Cruise. I love Top Guns.

Japhet De Oliveira: Do you like the way he runs, is that what it is?

Yolanda Herring: I mean, it's the music. It's the whole, Goose... Yeah, I'm a Top Gun fanatic.

Japhet De Oliveira: Were you upset that Kelly wasn't in the second one?

Yolanda Herring: I was a little bit, yes. I was a little upset with that.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's a good narrative.

Yolanda Herring: It is.

Japhet De Oliveira: A good fix. All right, so Top Gun. But you were in the Army, are you allowed to say Top Gun?

Yolanda Herring: I am, I am. It's a competition between Army and Air Force or I think he was Navy, but yeah, it's okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, that was 12. Where next?

Yolanda Herring: Let's go to 20.

Japhet De Oliveira: 20, all right. Tell us about something you would give 10 out of 10.

Yolanda Herring: 10 out of 10... I would give being a GiGi or grandma to my grandkids. 10 out of 10. That's the best job ever.

Japhet De Oliveira: Aww. That's fantastic. How many grandkids do you have?

Yolanda Herring: I have two. I have a grandson, Elias, and then Zaylie, she's two.

Japhet De Oliveira: I look forward to that one day. That's fantastic. All right, good. Where next? That was 20.

Yolanda Herring: 22.

Japhet De Oliveira: 22, if you could be anywhere right now, where would it be?

Yolanda Herring: That's easy, Hawaii.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh really?

Yolanda Herring: On a beach.

Japhet De Oliveira: Any particular island?

Yolanda Herring: I haven't been to Maui yet. I was going when the fires happened, but so far I love the big island. It's quiet. Kona is beautiful. You can sit there on your front lanai and just enjoy a drink of coffee. Watch the sunrise. Yeah, beautiful.

Japhet De Oliveira: Is that a cold coffee or hot coffee?

Yolanda Herring: That is a hot coffee. Cold coffee is okay, I guess, but I prefer hot coffee.

Japhet De Oliveira: I'm the same way. It doesn't matter how hot outside. All right, great. Where next?

Yolanda Herring: What did we go, 25?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, you can go up or down. It's up to you.

Yolanda Herring: Let's go to 18.

Japhet De Oliveira: 18, all right. If you had to eat just one meal for a month, three meals a day for one month, what would be that single meal?

Yolanda Herring: Pasta. Anything pasta.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh really?

Yolanda Herring: I am a pasta fanatic. I will eat anything pasta related.

Japhet De Oliveira: And do you like spaghetti, ravioli or lasagna?

Yolanda Herring: So I am a fettuccine person. I love a shrimp fettuccine, maybe a chicken, yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, all right. We're not hungry right now.

Yolanda Herring: No, not hungry at all, nope.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. Where next?

Yolanda Herring: 27.

Japhet De Oliveira: 27, all right. Bring us into your kitchen. You are preparing a special meal. What would it be?

Yolanda Herring: My favorite meal to cook is Thanksgiving.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh yeah?

Yolanda Herring: I am a true southern cooker. A fried turkey and collard greens, some cornbread, homemade mac and cheese, potato salad.

Japhet De Oliveira: And I've got to ask, you said fried turkey, does that mean you drop the turkey into-

Yolanda Herring: Into the grease, yep. Deep-fried turkey, Cajun deep-fried turkey.

Japhet De Oliveira: You know, I've never tried that. I've heard about this.

Yolanda Herring: Oh my gosh, it's so good, you've got to try it. Thanksgiving's coming.

Japhet De Oliveira: Now, okay, tell us your secret. How do you keep everything hot, like there's so many dishes?

Yolanda Herring: Well, so my stove, I have a split oven stove, so while you're cooking in one you can keep the other one warm. That's how you do it.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, good. For all of you who don't have a split oven, good luck. All right, where next?

Yolanda Herring: 34.

Japhet De Oliveira: 34, tell us about a moment that a person's kindness made a difference in your life.

Yolanda Herring: Oh gosh. I think I can go back to when I first joined the military. I was 18 when I joined the military. I was a young mother. I had a son. One of my NCOs, non-commissioned officers, she was over me... she was one of my supervisors... she knew I was struggling being a single parent, having a young family. It was just me and my son then, and she was so nice. She helped me find somewhere to live. She got me a childcare center for my son. I mean, just the nicest lady ever. So that right there has really touched me. So when I see single mothers or I have friends who are struggling with kids, or my grandkids, I'll just go get them like, "Hey, come with me." I like to help people who I know are struggling.

Japhet De Oliveira: When you think about your life, when you think about where you are right now, a grandmother now, and the journey you've taken, what are you most surprised about? That's a bonus question, by the way.

Yolanda Herring: What am I most surprised about? I wouldn't say I'm surprised but I'm thankful and I'm blessed that all three of my kids have gone to college.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow, that's great.

Yolanda Herring: All three of my kids are just the best. I love them to death. And then my grandkids, I couldn't ask for better. I have family who love me, so.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's beautiful, I love that. I love that. All right, good. Where next?

Yolanda Herring: Let's go to 40.

Japhet De Oliveira: 40, tell us about a time that you failed.

Yolanda Herring: Oh, man. Yeah, there are those times. Let's see, if I had to pick one, there's so many.

Japhet De Oliveira: We all have them. We all have them.

Yolanda Herring: So there was a time that I felt... I had a soldier.... so this is probably 10 years into my career, I was stationed over in NATO, in Belgium and I had a soldier who I knew was struggling with some personal finances, some personal family issues, and I thought I did everything I could do for him. I got him some like EAP assistance, I don't know what it's called in the military, but we got him assistance. We got him some financial help, some counseling for him and his wife. And we thought everything was going good, and then he died, and he died on a motorcycle in a motorcycle accident. And we really couldn't pin down whether the motorcycle accident was an accident or was it on purpose. So you always sit back and regret like did I help him enough? Did I do everything I could? So I felt like that was a failure because I always blamed myself. I could have did more for him.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, it's a fine line, right?

Yolanda Herring: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: When you feel difficult things are taking place in people and you want to do more. So how do you protect yourself now from that difficulty where you're like could I have done more, for anyone else? Because I imagine in HR you're probably doing things for people all the time, right?

Yolanda Herring: Yes, yes, all the time. I mean, as you get older you realize that you do everything you can for people... you give them all the tools, all the resources... and what they do is their choice. So if it's their choice and you've done everything physically possible-

Japhet De Oliveira: Then it's enough.

Yolanda Herring: ... you have to just give it to God.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, good wisdom. All right, where next? Thank you for sharing. That was 40.

Yolanda Herring: 45.

Japhet De Oliveira: 45, all right. When people come to you for help, what are they usually asking for?

Yolanda Herring: Oh gosh.

Japhet De Oliveira: I wonder.

Yolanda Herring: Well, work, when it comes to work usually someone has a grievance, they're unhappy about something, whether it's their supervisor, they don't like how someone treated them. Usually it's something related to some type of grievance they have.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, so what's the number one skill for handling grievances? That was question 45A.

Yolanda Herring: Empathy, you have to put yourself in the other person's shoes to understand where they're coming from. Because while that may not have happened to you, you have to understand where they're coming from and empathize with them.

Japhet De Oliveira: Have you always been an empathetic person?

Yolanda Herring: I have been, yes, always.

Japhet De Oliveira: Did you get that from your mom, dad, or somewhere?

Yolanda Herring: My dad was a chef and he was one of the nicest guys and I would just sit back and watch him interact with his staff and customers and just nice all around, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Is he still around?

Yolanda Herring: He is. He's alive and well. He's retired now, but yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, that's beautiful, when he gets to listen to this.

Yolanda Herring: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, a nice testament to him. That's great. Thank you. All right, where next?

Yolanda Herring: 49.

Japhet De Oliveira: 49, all right. What are you currently learning about and why? Yolanda's going to mention a legal journal.

Yolanda Herring: I have to be honest, I'm really learning about labor unions. There are no labor unions in the military. You kind of do as you're told. There's no bargaining wages, there's no anything like that. So I'm really sitting back, watching, observing, watching the attorneys, watching my new director of labor to learn about these labor unions because it's new to me. It's exciting to learn something new, but at the same time it's foreign to me. So I just sit back and watching and learning.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's great, that's great. All right, where next?

Yolanda Herring: Let's go to 52.

Japhet De Oliveira: 52, all right. Oh, share what motivates you.

Yolanda Herring: What motivates me? My family. I sit back and I watch my husband who works an exuberant amount of hours, he's a leader too and he's such an empathetic leader. So I sit back and watch him. I learn from him because he is such an inspiration. He's a people person, so he gets people to come to him and tell them their whole life stories. He doesn't even ask them, but they would tell him their whole life stories and it's pretty awesome. And then my son, he's great. He's my oldest and I love him to death. He's raised his family, him and his wife, they've done such a great job. So it's my family. I love them all.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's beautiful. Another testament to them, great. All right, where next?

Yolanda Herring: What did we go for, 52?

Japhet De Oliveira: 52, yeah.

Yolanda Herring: Let's go to 55.

Japhet De Oliveira: 55, all right. Share about something that actually frightens you.

Yolanda Herring: I don't like heights.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, all right, all right, literally.

Yolanda Herring: Yes, I do not like heights. If I ever have to do something with heights it panics me.

Japhet De Oliveira: Now you're a tall person so you're worried about walking... No, I'm kidding. So when you say heights, like ladder heights or?

Yolanda Herring: I can do a ladder. Don't put me on a bridge.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Yolanda Herring: We were in Chicago. You know that tower that you can lean out?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes, yes.

Yolanda Herring: Yeah, I didn't do it. I refused. I don't do heights.

Japhet De Oliveira: What about if you're driving over a bridge?

Yolanda Herring: I can drive over but I can't stand still. No.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, good. I'll talk to my therapist about that. All right, where next?

Yolanda Herring: Let's go to 60.

Japhet De Oliveira: 60, all right. When in life have you felt most alone?

Yolanda Herring: Gosh, I would say my very first deployment. I was probably 22 or 23. We had to deploy, this was right after the Gulf War happened, we were in the middle of Haiti, Mogadishu, all the other good stuff was going on and I had to deploy. It was my first time out of the country. It was scary. I mean I didn't really know anyone. I mean we had fellow soldiers there with us, but I didn't know people. So when you're in a foreign country, you're by yourself, it's very different.

Japhet De Oliveira: How long was the deployment?

Yolanda Herring: It was eight months, a very long time.

Japhet De Oliveira: A fair time, yeah, yeah. What was your secret for surviving it?

Yolanda Herring: I made friends.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, all right. The introvert made friends.

Yolanda Herring: I did, I made friends, because that's the only way you're really going to survive is you have some friends who you could vent to when you're having a moment.

Japhet De Oliveira: Did you all wear Lululemon?

Yolanda Herring: I mean, not back then. Lulu didn't exist then. I'm aging myself. But not in the nineties, no.

Japhet De Oliveira: All good. Hey, that's great. All right, where next?

Yolanda Herring: 64.

Japhet De Oliveira: 64, when you look back at your life, tell us about a moment which was like, what was I thinking?

Yolanda Herring: Let's see, a moment in life that was like what was I thinking? I think when I finally decided to retire, I asked myself a few hundred times what are you thinking? I mean, you have to understand when you join the military at 18, you know nothing else. That is your life, that's your college, that's your midlife crisis. I mean, that's everything. So when I finally made the decision to retire and go to what I call civilian life, it was frightening. It was frightening and I was thinking-

Japhet De Oliveira: Big change.

Yolanda Herring: ... Yolanda, what are you doing? Are you sure you want to do this? But I knew I wanted to do it, but I also was kind of scared. So I did it, it turned out well apparently, but yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, well done, well done. All right, where next?

Yolanda Herring: 68.

Japhet De Oliveira: 68, if you could learn one new professional skill, what would that be?

Yolanda Herring: That's a good one. I would learn how to be a teacher.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's interesting.

Yolanda Herring: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: What group? Like kids, teenagers, young adults, adults?

Yolanda Herring: Maybe young adults or adults. I love little people, but little people don't listen. Well, I could say that adults don't listen either, but.

Japhet De Oliveira: I was going to say, sorry, who are you talking about?

Yolanda Herring: I would probably high school-ish because they're the most meshable and they're getting ready to start their journey-

Japhet De Oliveira: The most volatile.

Yolanda Herring: ... into life. They are, but you've got to have patience.

Japhet De Oliveira: Patience. Are you a patient person?

Yolanda Herring: I think... okay, I think I am, but if you ask my kids they will tell you... my daughter, my middle daughter, will tell me I was born with zero patience and now I'm negative. But I think I have patience. But she tells me that all the time, like, "Mom, you were born with no patience and you are now negative." I'm like, "But I try to be patient."

Japhet De Oliveira: Sometimes our self-perception is totally off.

Yolanda Herring: Probably, probably.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey. But I like the desire to be a teacher for a complicated age group.

Yolanda Herring: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, investing in them, yeah.

Yolanda Herring: Investing in the future.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, exactly. Shaping them. Good luck. All right, where next?

Yolanda Herring: 70.

Japhet De Oliveira: 70, all right. Tell us about one thing that you're determined to accomplish.

Yolanda Herring: I am determined to retire, move to Texas, buy a house next door to my grandkids. That's what I really want to do.

Japhet De Oliveira: Are your grandkids all going to live next door to you? Like they're moving?

Yolanda Herring: If you tell my grandson that, he would be extremely happy. I asked him one day, "Can GiGi move to Texas?" He's like, "Yeah, you can buy the house next door." I'm like, "Somebody lives there." He's like, "Yeah, they can move out."

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. So you're looking forward to retirement?

Yolanda Herring: I am.

Japhet De Oliveira: The second retirement.

Yolanda Herring: A second retirement, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Do you think it'll be real this time?

Yolanda Herring: I think so. I think this time would be real. I was 40 when I retired the first time. That's too young to retire.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, that's true, that's true. All right, good. All right, well, where next then? That was 70.

Yolanda Herring: 72.

Japhet De Oliveira: 72, all right. Tell us about what you want to do when you retire.

Yolanda Herring: That's a good lead in.

Japhet De Oliveira: As you see, these are not planned. All right, so tell us about what you want to do when you retire, and then why, Yolanda, are you waiting?

Yolanda Herring: Yes. So besides moving to Texas, I do want to also have a condo in Florida, this is where I'm from, and enjoy the beach. Enjoy my family. My mom and my dad who both still live in Florida. Yeah, I'm a beach person, so if you have beach-

Japhet De Oliveira: Texas sounds good.

Yolanda Herring: I'm all for it, so if you can say beach, I'm there.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, Maui.

Yolanda Herring: Maui, yep.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's good. All right, and why are you waiting?

Yolanda Herring: I have a college kid and college is not free.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fair enough, okay.

Yolanda Herring: I've got to pay for it.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, all right, praise the Lord. All right, where next? That was 72.

Yolanda Herring: 77.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, share one of the most cup-filling experiences with us, one of your most cup-filling experiences.

Yolanda Herring: Cup-filling experiences, I will say my first two days that I worked at Adventist Health.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really?

Yolanda Herring: Yes. I got here when we were still over in the Douglas Building and Amanda Dobbs, she was the HR director, and Amanda literally welcomed me into the HR fold. She took me to lunch, she gave me the rundown of the building, of the people, and she was just so gracious and so very nice to me. Even to this day, because she's actually on my team now, nicest lady ever. And I realized that Adventist Health was where I was supposed to be. You ever run into things and you're like, "Well, maybe I shouldn't be here and maybe I shouldn't"? Amanda sold for me those first two days that this is where I was supposed to be.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's wonderful. Good, great. All right, where next?

Yolanda Herring: 79.

Japhet De Oliveira: 79, oh, if you don't mind, share a painful memory you wish you could forget.

Yolanda Herring: I think the death of my grandma. That was painful. I was younger, I was close to her. And when she happened to die I was over in Korea. I was 20, maybe 21, I was much younger, and I couldn't come home. I was deployed, I couldn't come home, so that was painful. I realized that somebody that I was close to was gone, couldn't come back, so it was difficult.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah. It's true, because we love them.

Yolanda Herring: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: And yet we remember them.

Yolanda Herring: Most definitely, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Their influences still live through us.

Yolanda Herring: Oh, yes, yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, totally. All right, where next then after 79?

Yolanda Herring: Let's go to 81.

Japhet De Oliveira: 81, what is something you've given your absolute best effort towards and why was it important?

Yolanda Herring: I think I gave my best effort toward being the best soldier I could, being the best leader that I could, because I feel like I had some great leaders throughout my career and I feel like I looked up to them. So then I needed to be just like them or better because I loved how they led us. I've had some pretty bad leaders, but the good ones I had, I felt like I want to be just like them or I want to do something very similar, because I find leaders who take care of their soldiers, employees, are the ones who really care. They show you through action not just through words.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, that's the key, right? Not just saying it but actually following through.

Yolanda Herring: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Good, good. All right, where next?

Yolanda Herring: 85.

Japhet De Oliveira: 85, oh, you just alluded to this, so this is great, describe a role model you aspire to be like.

Yolanda Herring: Oh gosh.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah.

Yolanda Herring: I had this Sarn-Major... in the military again... she was a black female, I had never seen a black female that high ranking in the military. And I literally ran into her one day, I looked up and I was like, "Oh, Sarn-Major, I'm so sorry." And she was like, "Who are you?" And I was like a specialist or something, and she was like, "Who are you? Where are you from?" And I told her who I was and it almost seemed like she was coming to check in on me. I would see this lady once a week, she would come by... it's called the S-1, but HR office, and she was always just peeping in. And she told me one day, she's like, "I'm retiring, but I want you to know I've watched you the last three years," it was a three-year assignment, she says, "You're going to go far because you are really an empathetic and a very organized and a very caring person. Don't change." And I was like, "Oh, thank you."

Japhet De Oliveira: Does she know that you feel this way about her?

Yolanda Herring: You know what's so funny, she became a Delta flight attendant-

Japhet De Oliveira: Really?

Yolanda Herring: ... when she retired, and I ran into her years ago and I told her how she had impacted me. She said, "I knew I saw something in you, but I didn't know how long you would last because the military, it's kind of brutal at times." I said, "Well, I did 23 years." She's like, "I'm proud of you."

Japhet De Oliveira: That's amazing. That's amazing. What are the chances that you would run into her?

Yolanda Herring: As a Delta flight attendant, right?

Japhet De Oliveira: I know, I know. So when you saw her, tell us the story, and when you saw her how did it happen? Did you knock the pilot down and do a military move?

Yolanda Herring: I'm getting on the plane. I have my headphones on and usually when I walk onto a plane I always say hi to the flight attendants. They have some tough jobs.

Japhet De Oliveira: I know they do.

Yolanda Herring: So I was like, "Hi, good morning," and then I stopped and I looked and I was like, "Sorry, Major." She was like, "Oh my God, I thought it was you." I was like, "Yes it is." And so I went ahead and sat in my seat and then once we got into the air she came over and talked to me and it was just really nice.

Japhet De Oliveira: That is providential amazing moment. Wow, wow. Go figure, all right. Hey, lovely. All right, we have time for two more.

Yolanda Herring:  Okay, let's do 90.

Japhet De Oliveira: 90, all right. Tell us about how you overcame a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.

Yolanda Herring: Insurmountable obstacle, so I was a single parent for a while. I had my son. I was married before my current marriage and that marriage didn't work out. I had another daughter. So at the age of 24 I was a single parent with two kids in the military. Deployments, all the fun stuff you do, so I really felt like at the moment that I may not be able to finish my career because being a single parent in the military is not for the weak-hearted. So I had to make myself determined that I was going to get through this, that I was going to make the best life for my kids that I could and that we were going to be okay. So I was determined to do all that. I stayed in, I got remarried, I made Master Sergeant was the rank that I retired as. And I feel like I had a really good career, but I had to be determined. You had to really put in some long hours. I got my college degree. It was a lot, but I did it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, well done, yeah. I'm glad you ever came that. All right, Yolanda, last one, where do you want to go?

Yolanda Herring: Let's see. Not 100, let's do 99.

Japhet De Oliveira: 99 bottles. Okay, so here it is. What is, oh, this is actually perfect for you, what is the most difficult truth that you've ever told?

Yolanda Herring: The most difficult truth, I've had to tell people... who shall remain nameless... that the job that they're in was not for them. As much as they loved it, as much as they really liked doing what they do, it was not suited for them so they should explore other options. It's hard.

Japhet De Oliveira: That is very hard.

Yolanda Herring: It's very hard.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yolanda, it's been an absolute pleasure to be able to talk to you. Thank you for sharing.

Yolanda Herring: Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, I really appreciate it. I say this at every end of the episode and I really do believe this, sit with a friend, ask them good questions, right?

Yolanda Herring: Yep.

Japhet De Oliveira: And not only do you learn about them, but actually you are changed as well.

Yolanda Herring: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, we are changed for the better. So I appreciate the privilege of hearing a bit of your story, and I know your family's going to enjoy listening to it as well. And God bless everybody else and we'll connect again soon.

Yolanda Herring: Thank you so much.

Narrator: Thank you for joining us for The Story & Experience Podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at Adventist Health.org/story. The Story & Experience Podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health for the Office of Culture.