Pin-Ups for Vets mannequin Janae Sergio remembers surviving homelessness earlier than becoming a member of the Navy: ‘Be your personal hero’

Janae Sergio’s jaw dropped when she first noticed herself remodeled right into a ’40s pinup – it had been a protracted journey for the previous homeless teen who discovered her residence within the US Navy.

“I had left Hollywood as a homeless teenager, and I joined the navy as a homeless teenager,” the now-40-year-old advised Fox Information Digital. “Right here I used to be coming again as a mannequin getting my hair finished, my make-up finished, simply feeling valued and admired.”

“It was virtually an out-of-body expertise,” she continued. “I bear in mind working in a shoe retailer and anyone had stolen my backpack. If you’re a homeless individual, that is all you have got. I bear in mind feeling so helpless. Like I used to be no person. Right here I used to be, strolling on those self same streets now as an completed girl, right here for this photoshoot. I simply felt like I made it one way or the other.”

The Southern California native was Miss April 2020 for the annual Pin-Ups for Vets calendar. The award-winning nonprofit, based in 2006 by California resident Gina Elise, raises funding to assist hospitalized and deployed troops. It famously produces WWII-inspired bombshell calendars that includes veterans as fashions.

FORMER BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER PILOT JANA TOBIAS ON POSING FOR PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S ME’

Since its launch, Pin-Ups for Vets has donated over $100,000 to assist hospitals buy new rehabilitation tools and to offer monetary help for veterans’ well being care program growth throughout the nation. Through the pandemic, Pin-Ups for Vets has been delivery out care packages enclosed with items of appreciation to hospitalized veterans. It continues to mail morale-boosting care packages to deployed US troops across the globe.

Janae Sergio’s early Navy years onboard USS John C. Stennis.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“Once I noticed my images for the primary time, I assumed, ‘Who’s she?'” Sergio chuckled. “‘She’s so fairly.’ I used to be so grateful for the chance as a result of the muse offers a serving to hand to these in want. However what Gina does for each girl in that calendar is inexplicable. You are feeling empowered to inform your story. I am eternally grateful for her.”

“This is among the most empowering veteran organizations I’ve ever labored with,” Sergio continued. “It raises consciousness on our vets. All of us volunteer to be on the calendar. It additionally brings collectively an unimaginable group of inspiring feminine veterans who’re hardworking and completed. I’ve met so many unimaginable individuals by the group, and it is actually an honor to proceed supporting it.”

Right this moment, Sergio is telling his story. Just lately she wrote a memoir titled “Completely Flawed – A Veteran’s Journey from Homeless to Hero,” which particulars how she went from being a 16-year-old on the streets to becoming a member of the Navy and making her mark as a profitable businesswoman.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Janae Sergio has written a memoir titled ‘Completely Flawed’.
(White Field Media)

“I assumed the life I used to be residing was regular,” she mirrored on her childhood. “It was across the age of 13-14 once we began going to church. I began to get to know different individuals who had loving households and regular households. That is once I began to talk up in opposition to the abuse I used to be enduring. Nevertheless it solely received worse. It got here to some extent the place my mother despatched me to reside along with her sister, who was a veteran. My aunt needed to maintain me away from that atmosphere, however ultimately, my mother confirmed up with the police. to please not ship me again. However the police advised her that my mother was my guardian.”

A younger Janae Sergio.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is when my aunt went inside and advised me to run,” mentioned Sergio.

Rising up, Sergio by no means met her father. Her mom was a single mother or father by age 17. Sergio, who mentioned she got here from “two very lengthy strains of household dysfunction,” described ending alleged bodily and verbal abuse from her mother and “her numerous male companions.”

“I simply bear in mind being 14, working down a hill barefooted, working from the police, working from my mother, afraid of the results,” Sergio defined. “It was very late at evening. It was pitch black outdoors. I discovered a shopping mall and hid behind a type of massive potted crops. I stayed there shivering… I feel the police understood the state of affairs… However I used to be returned residence and entered extra abuse.”

PIN-UPS FOR VETS PUTS A SPOTLIGHT ON FEMALE VETERANS POSING AS BOMBSHELLS TO RAISE MONEY FOR AMERICAN HEROES

Sergio mentioned that by the point she turned 16, she was sexually assaulted. She alleged that mom didn’t wish to take care of the state of affairs. As a result of, she was dropped off at a homeless shelter in Hollywood, a two-and-a-half-hour drive away from residence. Sergio alleged that after dropping her off, the matriarch had the costs in opposition to the one that assaulted her dropped.

Janae Sergio discovered herself on the streets of Hollywood at age 16.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I needed to flee the abuse,” mentioned Sergio. “I needed to flee to a secure place. I needed to be in a loving residence. On one hand, I believed this saved my life as a result of the abuse was attending to be extra aggressive. She was changing into extra enraged in her beatings. In some Situations, I genuinely thought I used to be going to die if she did not cease. So I used to be relieved to be out of that state of affairs. However the expertise of surviving on the road is sort of equally traumatizing and fearful.”

“I had homeless males chase me down the road,” she continued. “There have been a number of makes an attempt to lure me into intercourse trafficking. There have been moments once I wished my mother would come again and get me as a result of I liked her and I needed her to like me… I hadn’t accepted the truth that she did not need me. There have been a number of situations the place I reached out to her and tried to get her to return get me… As a child, you simply need your mother.”

Sergio mentioned she went into “survival mode.” She befriended those that had been on their very own for a lot longer than she was, and so they took her beneath their wing. She reached out to packages for at-risk youth in Los Angeles the place she sought steerage and met with counselors keen to assist.

PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘YOU CAN BE A HERO AND WEAR RED LIPSTICK’

Janae Sergio on the day she enlisted within the Navy.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I bear in mind in my first week, I met a woman my age,” mentioned Sergio. “Her physique was utterly degraded. She had craters, she was extraordinarily skinny. She appeared unhealthy. She had already been roped into the intercourse trafficking commerce, and she or he was addicted closely to heroin. I simply bear in mind she advised me, ‘You don’ t need this for your self. No matter you do, keep away from medicine. Keep out of this life. Simply get out of right here.’ I stored that on the forefront of my thoughts your complete time.”

Janae Sergio was amongst the primary service members to be forward-deployed in assist of Operation Enduring Freedom.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

In keeping with Sergio, certainly one of her buddies had joined the Navy. The buddy’s recruiter, who discovered about Sergio, invited the homeless teen out for lunch. A suggestion was made that Sergio couldn’t refuse.

“The recruiter satisfied me that I am going to at all times be by the ocean, and I am going to get to journey the world,” mentioned Sergio. “These had been issues that I had by no means envisioned for myself. I had by no means been on a airplane earlier than. I had nothing else going for me. So I used to be going to provide this a strive. There was nothing to lose right here. And it was actually the most effective choices of my life.”

Janae Sergio met the solid of 2001’s ‘Pearl Harbor’ which starred Kate Beckinsale (left).
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

Sergio joined the Navy in 2000 at age 18. She can be among the many first service members to be forward-deployed aboard the USS John C Stennis one month after the 9/11 assaults to kick off Operation Enduring Freedom. Her Navy achievements embrace twin warfare certifications and 4 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals (NAMs).

BOB HOPE’S LETTERS TO AMERICAN TROOPS DURING WWII CHRONICLED IN BOOK: IT ‘AFFECTED HIS ENTIRE LIFE’

Janae Sergio graduating faculty.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is the trail that God [was] was going to take me on, and I used to be going to be OK as a result of I had already survived a lot,” mentioned Sergio. “… I used to be scared. I used to be nervous. Nevertheless it was proper after 9/11. So our pleasure in our nation and our patriotism had been extraordinarily excessive. I felt like I used to be being referred to as for my function to serve this nation.”

Sergio served eight years of energetic responsibility and has served as a civilian ever since. At present, she is Chief of Air Drive Lodging, the place she manages a portfolio of 88 Air Drive Inns. She additionally launched a web-based boutique impressed by her love of style.

Janae Sergio and her household.
(White Field Media)

“Once I joined the Navy, I used to be working at a clothes retailer on Melrose Boulevard,” she mentioned. “My dream was to proceed within the subject… I liked serving within the navy, however I by no means actually received to observe my ardour. In 2019, I gained slightly little bit of a social media following. I assumed I had the affect to begin a enterprise. And I needed to assist different ladies discover what works for his or her our bodies… I needed to indicate individuals you can be within the navy, however nonetheless have a love of style and embrace that. You do not have to separate the 2. I have been doing that for 3 years now. It has been fantastic.”

Janae Sergio went on to pursue her love of style.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

The proud spouse and mother of two daughters hopes that her story will encourage others to by no means quit, it doesn’t matter what circumstances they’re in.

’40S STAR CAROLE LANDIS, SEEMINGLY FORGOTTEN TODAY, ‘EMBODIED A REAL SENSE OF UNITY’ DURING WWII, AUTHOR SAYS

“We’re all going to undergo hardships in our lives,” she mentioned. “In my guide, I speak quite a bit about being your personal hero. And it is not that others will not assist you. However they might not be able to serving to you. So you’ll be able to’t sit round and wait for somebody to return rescue you… You could by no means get out. You might be your personal hero… I wish to be an inspiration to others. I imagine we heal by serving to others. And I do imagine you’ll be able to change your personal story.”

Janae Sergio’s jaw dropped when she first noticed herself remodeled right into a ’40s pinup – it had been a protracted journey for the previous homeless teen who discovered her residence within the US Navy.

“I had left Hollywood as a homeless teenager, and I joined the navy as a homeless teenager,” the now-40-year-old advised Fox Information Digital. “Right here I used to be coming again as a mannequin getting my hair finished, my make-up finished, simply feeling valued and admired.”

“It was virtually an out-of-body expertise,” she continued. “I bear in mind working in a shoe retailer and anyone had stolen my backpack. If you’re a homeless individual, that is all you have got. I bear in mind feeling so helpless. Like I used to be no person. Right here I used to be, strolling on those self same streets now as an completed girl, right here for this photoshoot. I simply felt like I made it one way or the other.”

The Southern California native was Miss April 2020 for the annual Pin-Ups for Vets calendar. The award-winning nonprofit, based in 2006 by California resident Gina Elise, raises funding to assist hospitalized and deployed troops. It famously produces WWII-inspired bombshell calendars that includes veterans as fashions.

FORMER BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER PILOT JANA TOBIAS ON POSING FOR PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S ME’

Since its launch, Pin-Ups for Vets has donated over $100,000 to assist hospitals buy new rehabilitation tools and to offer monetary help for veterans’ well being care program growth throughout the nation. Through the pandemic, Pin-Ups for Vets has been delivery out care packages enclosed with items of appreciation to hospitalized veterans. It continues to mail morale-boosting care packages to deployed US troops across the globe.

Janae Sergio’s early Navy years onboard USS John C. Stennis.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“Once I noticed my images for the primary time, I assumed, ‘Who’s she?'” Sergio chuckled. “‘She’s so fairly.’ I used to be so grateful for the chance as a result of the muse offers a serving to hand to these in want. However what Gina does for each girl in that calendar is inexplicable. You are feeling empowered to inform your story. I am eternally grateful for her.”

“This is among the most empowering veteran organizations I’ve ever labored with,” Sergio continued. “It raises consciousness on our vets. All of us volunteer to be on the calendar. It additionally brings collectively an unimaginable group of inspiring feminine veterans who’re hardworking and completed. I’ve met so many unimaginable individuals by the group, and it is actually an honor to proceed supporting it.”

Right this moment, Sergio is telling his story. Just lately she wrote a memoir titled “Completely Flawed – A Veteran’s Journey from Homeless to Hero,” which particulars how she went from being a 16-year-old on the streets to becoming a member of the Navy and making her mark as a profitable businesswoman.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Janae Sergio has written a memoir titled ‘Completely Flawed’.
(White Field Media)

“I assumed the life I used to be residing was regular,” she mirrored on her childhood. “It was across the age of 13-14 once we began going to church. I began to get to know different individuals who had loving households and regular households. That is once I began to talk up in opposition to the abuse I used to be enduring. Nevertheless it solely received worse. It got here to some extent the place my mother despatched me to reside along with her sister, who was a veteran. My aunt needed to maintain me away from that atmosphere, however ultimately, my mother confirmed up with the police. to please not ship me again. However the police advised her that my mother was my guardian.”

A younger Janae Sergio.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is when my aunt went inside and advised me to run,” mentioned Sergio.

Rising up, Sergio by no means met her father. Her mom was a single mother or father by age 17. Sergio, who mentioned she got here from “two very lengthy strains of household dysfunction,” described ending alleged bodily and verbal abuse from her mother and “her numerous male companions.”

“I simply bear in mind being 14, working down a hill barefooted, working from the police, working from my mother, afraid of the results,” Sergio defined. “It was very late at evening. It was pitch black outdoors. I discovered a shopping mall and hid behind a type of massive potted crops. I stayed there shivering… I feel the police understood the state of affairs… However I used to be returned residence and entered extra abuse.”

PIN-UPS FOR VETS PUTS A SPOTLIGHT ON FEMALE VETERANS POSING AS BOMBSHELLS TO RAISE MONEY FOR AMERICAN HEROES

Sergio mentioned that by the point she turned 16, she was sexually assaulted. She alleged that mom didn’t wish to take care of the state of affairs. As a result of, she was dropped off at a homeless shelter in Hollywood, a two-and-a-half-hour drive away from residence. Sergio alleged that after dropping her off, the matriarch had the costs in opposition to the one that assaulted her dropped.

Janae Sergio discovered herself on the streets of Hollywood at age 16.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I needed to flee the abuse,” mentioned Sergio. “I needed to flee to a secure place. I needed to be in a loving residence. On one hand, I believed this saved my life as a result of the abuse was attending to be extra aggressive. She was changing into extra enraged in her beatings. In some Situations, I genuinely thought I used to be going to die if she did not cease. So I used to be relieved to be out of that state of affairs. However the expertise of surviving on the road is sort of equally traumatizing and fearful.”

“I had homeless males chase me down the road,” she continued. “There have been a number of makes an attempt to lure me into intercourse trafficking. There have been moments once I wished my mother would come again and get me as a result of I liked her and I needed her to like me… I hadn’t accepted the truth that she did not need me. There have been a number of situations the place I reached out to her and tried to get her to return get me… As a child, you simply need your mother.”

Sergio mentioned she went into “survival mode.” She befriended those that had been on their very own for a lot longer than she was, and so they took her beneath their wing. She reached out to packages for at-risk youth in Los Angeles the place she sought steerage and met with counselors keen to assist.

PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘YOU CAN BE A HERO AND WEAR RED LIPSTICK’

Janae Sergio on the day she enlisted within the Navy.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I bear in mind in my first week, I met a woman my age,” mentioned Sergio. “Her physique was utterly degraded. She had craters, she was extraordinarily skinny. She appeared unhealthy. She had already been roped into the intercourse trafficking commerce, and she or he was addicted closely to heroin. I simply bear in mind she advised me, ‘You don’ t need this for your self. No matter you do, keep away from medicine. Keep out of this life. Simply get out of right here.’ I stored that on the forefront of my thoughts your complete time.”

Janae Sergio was amongst the primary service members to be forward-deployed in assist of Operation Enduring Freedom.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

In keeping with Sergio, certainly one of her buddies had joined the Navy. The buddy’s recruiter, who discovered about Sergio, invited the homeless teen out for lunch. A suggestion was made that Sergio couldn’t refuse.

“The recruiter satisfied me that I am going to at all times be by the ocean, and I am going to get to journey the world,” mentioned Sergio. “These had been issues that I had by no means envisioned for myself. I had by no means been on a airplane earlier than. I had nothing else going for me. So I used to be going to provide this a strive. There was nothing to lose right here. And it was actually the most effective choices of my life.”

Janae Sergio met the solid of 2001’s ‘Pearl Harbor’ which starred Kate Beckinsale (left).
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

Sergio joined the Navy in 2000 at age 18. She can be among the many first service members to be forward-deployed aboard the USS John C Stennis one month after the 9/11 assaults to kick off Operation Enduring Freedom. Her Navy achievements embrace twin warfare certifications and 4 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals (NAMs).

BOB HOPE’S LETTERS TO AMERICAN TROOPS DURING WWII CHRONICLED IN BOOK: IT ‘AFFECTED HIS ENTIRE LIFE’

Janae Sergio graduating faculty.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is the trail that God [was] was going to take me on, and I used to be going to be OK as a result of I had already survived a lot,” mentioned Sergio. “… I used to be scared. I used to be nervous. Nevertheless it was proper after 9/11. So our pleasure in our nation and our patriotism had been extraordinarily excessive. I felt like I used to be being referred to as for my function to serve this nation.”

Sergio served eight years of energetic responsibility and has served as a civilian ever since. At present, she is Chief of Air Drive Lodging, the place she manages a portfolio of 88 Air Drive Inns. She additionally launched a web-based boutique impressed by her love of style.

Janae Sergio and her household.
(White Field Media)

“Once I joined the Navy, I used to be working at a clothes retailer on Melrose Boulevard,” she mentioned. “My dream was to proceed within the subject… I liked serving within the navy, however I by no means actually received to observe my ardour. In 2019, I gained slightly little bit of a social media following. I assumed I had the affect to begin a enterprise. And I needed to assist different ladies discover what works for his or her our bodies… I needed to indicate individuals you can be within the navy, however nonetheless have a love of style and embrace that. You do not have to separate the 2. I have been doing that for 3 years now. It has been fantastic.”

Janae Sergio went on to pursue her love of style.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

The proud spouse and mother of two daughters hopes that her story will encourage others to by no means quit, it doesn’t matter what circumstances they’re in.

’40S STAR CAROLE LANDIS, SEEMINGLY FORGOTTEN TODAY, ‘EMBODIED A REAL SENSE OF UNITY’ DURING WWII, AUTHOR SAYS

“We’re all going to undergo hardships in our lives,” she mentioned. “In my guide, I speak quite a bit about being your personal hero. And it is not that others will not assist you. However they might not be able to serving to you. So you’ll be able to’t sit round and wait for somebody to return rescue you… You could by no means get out. You might be your personal hero… I wish to be an inspiration to others. I imagine we heal by serving to others. And I do imagine you’ll be able to change your personal story.”

Janae Sergio’s jaw dropped when she first noticed herself remodeled right into a ’40s pinup – it had been a protracted journey for the previous homeless teen who discovered her residence within the US Navy.

“I had left Hollywood as a homeless teenager, and I joined the navy as a homeless teenager,” the now-40-year-old advised Fox Information Digital. “Right here I used to be coming again as a mannequin getting my hair finished, my make-up finished, simply feeling valued and admired.”

“It was virtually an out-of-body expertise,” she continued. “I bear in mind working in a shoe retailer and anyone had stolen my backpack. If you’re a homeless individual, that is all you have got. I bear in mind feeling so helpless. Like I used to be no person. Right here I used to be, strolling on those self same streets now as an completed girl, right here for this photoshoot. I simply felt like I made it one way or the other.”

The Southern California native was Miss April 2020 for the annual Pin-Ups for Vets calendar. The award-winning nonprofit, based in 2006 by California resident Gina Elise, raises funding to assist hospitalized and deployed troops. It famously produces WWII-inspired bombshell calendars that includes veterans as fashions.

FORMER BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER PILOT JANA TOBIAS ON POSING FOR PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S ME’

Since its launch, Pin-Ups for Vets has donated over $100,000 to assist hospitals buy new rehabilitation tools and to offer monetary help for veterans’ well being care program growth throughout the nation. Through the pandemic, Pin-Ups for Vets has been delivery out care packages enclosed with items of appreciation to hospitalized veterans. It continues to mail morale-boosting care packages to deployed US troops across the globe.

Janae Sergio’s early Navy years onboard USS John C. Stennis.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“Once I noticed my images for the primary time, I assumed, ‘Who’s she?'” Sergio chuckled. “‘She’s so fairly.’ I used to be so grateful for the chance as a result of the muse offers a serving to hand to these in want. However what Gina does for each girl in that calendar is inexplicable. You are feeling empowered to inform your story. I am eternally grateful for her.”

“This is among the most empowering veteran organizations I’ve ever labored with,” Sergio continued. “It raises consciousness on our vets. All of us volunteer to be on the calendar. It additionally brings collectively an unimaginable group of inspiring feminine veterans who’re hardworking and completed. I’ve met so many unimaginable individuals by the group, and it is actually an honor to proceed supporting it.”

Right this moment, Sergio is telling his story. Just lately she wrote a memoir titled “Completely Flawed – A Veteran’s Journey from Homeless to Hero,” which particulars how she went from being a 16-year-old on the streets to becoming a member of the Navy and making her mark as a profitable businesswoman.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Janae Sergio has written a memoir titled ‘Completely Flawed’.
(White Field Media)

“I assumed the life I used to be residing was regular,” she mirrored on her childhood. “It was across the age of 13-14 once we began going to church. I began to get to know different individuals who had loving households and regular households. That is once I began to talk up in opposition to the abuse I used to be enduring. Nevertheless it solely received worse. It got here to some extent the place my mother despatched me to reside along with her sister, who was a veteran. My aunt needed to maintain me away from that atmosphere, however ultimately, my mother confirmed up with the police. to please not ship me again. However the police advised her that my mother was my guardian.”

A younger Janae Sergio.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is when my aunt went inside and advised me to run,” mentioned Sergio.

Rising up, Sergio by no means met her father. Her mom was a single mother or father by age 17. Sergio, who mentioned she got here from “two very lengthy strains of household dysfunction,” described ending alleged bodily and verbal abuse from her mother and “her numerous male companions.”

“I simply bear in mind being 14, working down a hill barefooted, working from the police, working from my mother, afraid of the results,” Sergio defined. “It was very late at evening. It was pitch black outdoors. I discovered a shopping mall and hid behind a type of massive potted crops. I stayed there shivering… I feel the police understood the state of affairs… However I used to be returned residence and entered extra abuse.”

PIN-UPS FOR VETS PUTS A SPOTLIGHT ON FEMALE VETERANS POSING AS BOMBSHELLS TO RAISE MONEY FOR AMERICAN HEROES

Sergio mentioned that by the point she turned 16, she was sexually assaulted. She alleged that mom didn’t wish to take care of the state of affairs. As a result of, she was dropped off at a homeless shelter in Hollywood, a two-and-a-half-hour drive away from residence. Sergio alleged that after dropping her off, the matriarch had the costs in opposition to the one that assaulted her dropped.

Janae Sergio discovered herself on the streets of Hollywood at age 16.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I needed to flee the abuse,” mentioned Sergio. “I needed to flee to a secure place. I needed to be in a loving residence. On one hand, I believed this saved my life as a result of the abuse was attending to be extra aggressive. She was changing into extra enraged in her beatings. In some Situations, I genuinely thought I used to be going to die if she did not cease. So I used to be relieved to be out of that state of affairs. However the expertise of surviving on the road is sort of equally traumatizing and fearful.”

“I had homeless males chase me down the road,” she continued. “There have been a number of makes an attempt to lure me into intercourse trafficking. There have been moments once I wished my mother would come again and get me as a result of I liked her and I needed her to like me… I hadn’t accepted the truth that she did not need me. There have been a number of situations the place I reached out to her and tried to get her to return get me… As a child, you simply need your mother.”

Sergio mentioned she went into “survival mode.” She befriended those that had been on their very own for a lot longer than she was, and so they took her beneath their wing. She reached out to packages for at-risk youth in Los Angeles the place she sought steerage and met with counselors keen to assist.

PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘YOU CAN BE A HERO AND WEAR RED LIPSTICK’

Janae Sergio on the day she enlisted within the Navy.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I bear in mind in my first week, I met a woman my age,” mentioned Sergio. “Her physique was utterly degraded. She had craters, she was extraordinarily skinny. She appeared unhealthy. She had already been roped into the intercourse trafficking commerce, and she or he was addicted closely to heroin. I simply bear in mind she advised me, ‘You don’ t need this for your self. No matter you do, keep away from medicine. Keep out of this life. Simply get out of right here.’ I stored that on the forefront of my thoughts your complete time.”

Janae Sergio was amongst the primary service members to be forward-deployed in assist of Operation Enduring Freedom.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

In keeping with Sergio, certainly one of her buddies had joined the Navy. The buddy’s recruiter, who discovered about Sergio, invited the homeless teen out for lunch. A suggestion was made that Sergio couldn’t refuse.

“The recruiter satisfied me that I am going to at all times be by the ocean, and I am going to get to journey the world,” mentioned Sergio. “These had been issues that I had by no means envisioned for myself. I had by no means been on a airplane earlier than. I had nothing else going for me. So I used to be going to provide this a strive. There was nothing to lose right here. And it was actually the most effective choices of my life.”

Janae Sergio met the solid of 2001’s ‘Pearl Harbor’ which starred Kate Beckinsale (left).
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

Sergio joined the Navy in 2000 at age 18. She can be among the many first service members to be forward-deployed aboard the USS John C Stennis one month after the 9/11 assaults to kick off Operation Enduring Freedom. Her Navy achievements embrace twin warfare certifications and 4 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals (NAMs).

BOB HOPE’S LETTERS TO AMERICAN TROOPS DURING WWII CHRONICLED IN BOOK: IT ‘AFFECTED HIS ENTIRE LIFE’

Janae Sergio graduating faculty.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is the trail that God [was] was going to take me on, and I used to be going to be OK as a result of I had already survived a lot,” mentioned Sergio. “… I used to be scared. I used to be nervous. Nevertheless it was proper after 9/11. So our pleasure in our nation and our patriotism had been extraordinarily excessive. I felt like I used to be being referred to as for my function to serve this nation.”

Sergio served eight years of energetic responsibility and has served as a civilian ever since. At present, she is Chief of Air Drive Lodging, the place she manages a portfolio of 88 Air Drive Inns. She additionally launched a web-based boutique impressed by her love of style.

Janae Sergio and her household.
(White Field Media)

“Once I joined the Navy, I used to be working at a clothes retailer on Melrose Boulevard,” she mentioned. “My dream was to proceed within the subject… I liked serving within the navy, however I by no means actually received to observe my ardour. In 2019, I gained slightly little bit of a social media following. I assumed I had the affect to begin a enterprise. And I needed to assist different ladies discover what works for his or her our bodies… I needed to indicate individuals you can be within the navy, however nonetheless have a love of style and embrace that. You do not have to separate the 2. I have been doing that for 3 years now. It has been fantastic.”

Janae Sergio went on to pursue her love of style.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

The proud spouse and mother of two daughters hopes that her story will encourage others to by no means quit, it doesn’t matter what circumstances they’re in.

’40S STAR CAROLE LANDIS, SEEMINGLY FORGOTTEN TODAY, ‘EMBODIED A REAL SENSE OF UNITY’ DURING WWII, AUTHOR SAYS

“We’re all going to undergo hardships in our lives,” she mentioned. “In my guide, I speak quite a bit about being your personal hero. And it is not that others will not assist you. However they might not be able to serving to you. So you’ll be able to’t sit round and wait for somebody to return rescue you… You could by no means get out. You might be your personal hero… I wish to be an inspiration to others. I imagine we heal by serving to others. And I do imagine you’ll be able to change your personal story.”

Janae Sergio’s jaw dropped when she first noticed herself remodeled right into a ’40s pinup – it had been a protracted journey for the previous homeless teen who discovered her residence within the US Navy.

“I had left Hollywood as a homeless teenager, and I joined the navy as a homeless teenager,” the now-40-year-old advised Fox Information Digital. “Right here I used to be coming again as a mannequin getting my hair finished, my make-up finished, simply feeling valued and admired.”

“It was virtually an out-of-body expertise,” she continued. “I bear in mind working in a shoe retailer and anyone had stolen my backpack. If you’re a homeless individual, that is all you have got. I bear in mind feeling so helpless. Like I used to be no person. Right here I used to be, strolling on those self same streets now as an completed girl, right here for this photoshoot. I simply felt like I made it one way or the other.”

The Southern California native was Miss April 2020 for the annual Pin-Ups for Vets calendar. The award-winning nonprofit, based in 2006 by California resident Gina Elise, raises funding to assist hospitalized and deployed troops. It famously produces WWII-inspired bombshell calendars that includes veterans as fashions.

FORMER BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER PILOT JANA TOBIAS ON POSING FOR PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S ME’

Since its launch, Pin-Ups for Vets has donated over $100,000 to assist hospitals buy new rehabilitation tools and to offer monetary help for veterans’ well being care program growth throughout the nation. Through the pandemic, Pin-Ups for Vets has been delivery out care packages enclosed with items of appreciation to hospitalized veterans. It continues to mail morale-boosting care packages to deployed US troops across the globe.

Janae Sergio’s early Navy years onboard USS John C. Stennis.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“Once I noticed my images for the primary time, I assumed, ‘Who’s she?'” Sergio chuckled. “‘She’s so fairly.’ I used to be so grateful for the chance as a result of the muse offers a serving to hand to these in want. However what Gina does for each girl in that calendar is inexplicable. You are feeling empowered to inform your story. I am eternally grateful for her.”

“This is among the most empowering veteran organizations I’ve ever labored with,” Sergio continued. “It raises consciousness on our vets. All of us volunteer to be on the calendar. It additionally brings collectively an unimaginable group of inspiring feminine veterans who’re hardworking and completed. I’ve met so many unimaginable individuals by the group, and it is actually an honor to proceed supporting it.”

Right this moment, Sergio is telling his story. Just lately she wrote a memoir titled “Completely Flawed – A Veteran’s Journey from Homeless to Hero,” which particulars how she went from being a 16-year-old on the streets to becoming a member of the Navy and making her mark as a profitable businesswoman.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Janae Sergio has written a memoir titled ‘Completely Flawed’.
(White Field Media)

“I assumed the life I used to be residing was regular,” she mirrored on her childhood. “It was across the age of 13-14 once we began going to church. I began to get to know different individuals who had loving households and regular households. That is once I began to talk up in opposition to the abuse I used to be enduring. Nevertheless it solely received worse. It got here to some extent the place my mother despatched me to reside along with her sister, who was a veteran. My aunt needed to maintain me away from that atmosphere, however ultimately, my mother confirmed up with the police. to please not ship me again. However the police advised her that my mother was my guardian.”

A younger Janae Sergio.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is when my aunt went inside and advised me to run,” mentioned Sergio.

Rising up, Sergio by no means met her father. Her mom was a single mother or father by age 17. Sergio, who mentioned she got here from “two very lengthy strains of household dysfunction,” described ending alleged bodily and verbal abuse from her mother and “her numerous male companions.”

“I simply bear in mind being 14, working down a hill barefooted, working from the police, working from my mother, afraid of the results,” Sergio defined. “It was very late at evening. It was pitch black outdoors. I discovered a shopping mall and hid behind a type of massive potted crops. I stayed there shivering… I feel the police understood the state of affairs… However I used to be returned residence and entered extra abuse.”

PIN-UPS FOR VETS PUTS A SPOTLIGHT ON FEMALE VETERANS POSING AS BOMBSHELLS TO RAISE MONEY FOR AMERICAN HEROES

Sergio mentioned that by the point she turned 16, she was sexually assaulted. She alleged that mom didn’t wish to take care of the state of affairs. As a result of, she was dropped off at a homeless shelter in Hollywood, a two-and-a-half-hour drive away from residence. Sergio alleged that after dropping her off, the matriarch had the costs in opposition to the one that assaulted her dropped.

Janae Sergio discovered herself on the streets of Hollywood at age 16.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I needed to flee the abuse,” mentioned Sergio. “I needed to flee to a secure place. I needed to be in a loving residence. On one hand, I believed this saved my life as a result of the abuse was attending to be extra aggressive. She was changing into extra enraged in her beatings. In some Situations, I genuinely thought I used to be going to die if she did not cease. So I used to be relieved to be out of that state of affairs. However the expertise of surviving on the road is sort of equally traumatizing and fearful.”

“I had homeless males chase me down the road,” she continued. “There have been a number of makes an attempt to lure me into intercourse trafficking. There have been moments once I wished my mother would come again and get me as a result of I liked her and I needed her to like me… I hadn’t accepted the truth that she did not need me. There have been a number of situations the place I reached out to her and tried to get her to return get me… As a child, you simply need your mother.”

Sergio mentioned she went into “survival mode.” She befriended those that had been on their very own for a lot longer than she was, and so they took her beneath their wing. She reached out to packages for at-risk youth in Los Angeles the place she sought steerage and met with counselors keen to assist.

PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘YOU CAN BE A HERO AND WEAR RED LIPSTICK’

Janae Sergio on the day she enlisted within the Navy.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I bear in mind in my first week, I met a woman my age,” mentioned Sergio. “Her physique was utterly degraded. She had craters, she was extraordinarily skinny. She appeared unhealthy. She had already been roped into the intercourse trafficking commerce, and she or he was addicted closely to heroin. I simply bear in mind she advised me, ‘You don’ t need this for your self. No matter you do, keep away from medicine. Keep out of this life. Simply get out of right here.’ I stored that on the forefront of my thoughts your complete time.”

Janae Sergio was amongst the primary service members to be forward-deployed in assist of Operation Enduring Freedom.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

In keeping with Sergio, certainly one of her buddies had joined the Navy. The buddy’s recruiter, who discovered about Sergio, invited the homeless teen out for lunch. A suggestion was made that Sergio couldn’t refuse.

“The recruiter satisfied me that I am going to at all times be by the ocean, and I am going to get to journey the world,” mentioned Sergio. “These had been issues that I had by no means envisioned for myself. I had by no means been on a airplane earlier than. I had nothing else going for me. So I used to be going to provide this a strive. There was nothing to lose right here. And it was actually the most effective choices of my life.”

Janae Sergio met the solid of 2001’s ‘Pearl Harbor’ which starred Kate Beckinsale (left).
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

Sergio joined the Navy in 2000 at age 18. She can be among the many first service members to be forward-deployed aboard the USS John C Stennis one month after the 9/11 assaults to kick off Operation Enduring Freedom. Her Navy achievements embrace twin warfare certifications and 4 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals (NAMs).

BOB HOPE’S LETTERS TO AMERICAN TROOPS DURING WWII CHRONICLED IN BOOK: IT ‘AFFECTED HIS ENTIRE LIFE’

Janae Sergio graduating faculty.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is the trail that God [was] was going to take me on, and I used to be going to be OK as a result of I had already survived a lot,” mentioned Sergio. “… I used to be scared. I used to be nervous. Nevertheless it was proper after 9/11. So our pleasure in our nation and our patriotism had been extraordinarily excessive. I felt like I used to be being referred to as for my function to serve this nation.”

Sergio served eight years of energetic responsibility and has served as a civilian ever since. At present, she is Chief of Air Drive Lodging, the place she manages a portfolio of 88 Air Drive Inns. She additionally launched a web-based boutique impressed by her love of style.

Janae Sergio and her household.
(White Field Media)

“Once I joined the Navy, I used to be working at a clothes retailer on Melrose Boulevard,” she mentioned. “My dream was to proceed within the subject… I liked serving within the navy, however I by no means actually received to observe my ardour. In 2019, I gained slightly little bit of a social media following. I assumed I had the affect to begin a enterprise. And I needed to assist different ladies discover what works for his or her our bodies… I needed to indicate individuals you can be within the navy, however nonetheless have a love of style and embrace that. You do not have to separate the 2. I have been doing that for 3 years now. It has been fantastic.”

Janae Sergio went on to pursue her love of style.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

The proud spouse and mother of two daughters hopes that her story will encourage others to by no means quit, it doesn’t matter what circumstances they’re in.

’40S STAR CAROLE LANDIS, SEEMINGLY FORGOTTEN TODAY, ‘EMBODIED A REAL SENSE OF UNITY’ DURING WWII, AUTHOR SAYS

“We’re all going to undergo hardships in our lives,” she mentioned. “In my guide, I speak quite a bit about being your personal hero. And it is not that others will not assist you. However they might not be able to serving to you. So you’ll be able to’t sit round and wait for somebody to return rescue you… You could by no means get out. You might be your personal hero… I wish to be an inspiration to others. I imagine we heal by serving to others. And I do imagine you’ll be able to change your personal story.”

Janae Sergio’s jaw dropped when she first noticed herself remodeled right into a ’40s pinup – it had been a protracted journey for the previous homeless teen who discovered her residence within the US Navy.

“I had left Hollywood as a homeless teenager, and I joined the navy as a homeless teenager,” the now-40-year-old advised Fox Information Digital. “Right here I used to be coming again as a mannequin getting my hair finished, my make-up finished, simply feeling valued and admired.”

“It was virtually an out-of-body expertise,” she continued. “I bear in mind working in a shoe retailer and anyone had stolen my backpack. If you’re a homeless individual, that is all you have got. I bear in mind feeling so helpless. Like I used to be no person. Right here I used to be, strolling on those self same streets now as an completed girl, right here for this photoshoot. I simply felt like I made it one way or the other.”

The Southern California native was Miss April 2020 for the annual Pin-Ups for Vets calendar. The award-winning nonprofit, based in 2006 by California resident Gina Elise, raises funding to assist hospitalized and deployed troops. It famously produces WWII-inspired bombshell calendars that includes veterans as fashions.

FORMER BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER PILOT JANA TOBIAS ON POSING FOR PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S ME’

Since its launch, Pin-Ups for Vets has donated over $100,000 to assist hospitals buy new rehabilitation tools and to offer monetary help for veterans’ well being care program growth throughout the nation. Through the pandemic, Pin-Ups for Vets has been delivery out care packages enclosed with items of appreciation to hospitalized veterans. It continues to mail morale-boosting care packages to deployed US troops across the globe.

Janae Sergio’s early Navy years onboard USS John C. Stennis.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“Once I noticed my images for the primary time, I assumed, ‘Who’s she?'” Sergio chuckled. “‘She’s so fairly.’ I used to be so grateful for the chance as a result of the muse offers a serving to hand to these in want. However what Gina does for each girl in that calendar is inexplicable. You are feeling empowered to inform your story. I am eternally grateful for her.”

“This is among the most empowering veteran organizations I’ve ever labored with,” Sergio continued. “It raises consciousness on our vets. All of us volunteer to be on the calendar. It additionally brings collectively an unimaginable group of inspiring feminine veterans who’re hardworking and completed. I’ve met so many unimaginable individuals by the group, and it is actually an honor to proceed supporting it.”

Right this moment, Sergio is telling his story. Just lately she wrote a memoir titled “Completely Flawed – A Veteran’s Journey from Homeless to Hero,” which particulars how she went from being a 16-year-old on the streets to becoming a member of the Navy and making her mark as a profitable businesswoman.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Janae Sergio has written a memoir titled ‘Completely Flawed’.
(White Field Media)

“I assumed the life I used to be residing was regular,” she mirrored on her childhood. “It was across the age of 13-14 once we began going to church. I began to get to know different individuals who had loving households and regular households. That is once I began to talk up in opposition to the abuse I used to be enduring. Nevertheless it solely received worse. It got here to some extent the place my mother despatched me to reside along with her sister, who was a veteran. My aunt needed to maintain me away from that atmosphere, however ultimately, my mother confirmed up with the police. to please not ship me again. However the police advised her that my mother was my guardian.”

A younger Janae Sergio.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is when my aunt went inside and advised me to run,” mentioned Sergio.

Rising up, Sergio by no means met her father. Her mom was a single mother or father by age 17. Sergio, who mentioned she got here from “two very lengthy strains of household dysfunction,” described ending alleged bodily and verbal abuse from her mother and “her numerous male companions.”

“I simply bear in mind being 14, working down a hill barefooted, working from the police, working from my mother, afraid of the results,” Sergio defined. “It was very late at evening. It was pitch black outdoors. I discovered a shopping mall and hid behind a type of massive potted crops. I stayed there shivering… I feel the police understood the state of affairs… However I used to be returned residence and entered extra abuse.”

PIN-UPS FOR VETS PUTS A SPOTLIGHT ON FEMALE VETERANS POSING AS BOMBSHELLS TO RAISE MONEY FOR AMERICAN HEROES

Sergio mentioned that by the point she turned 16, she was sexually assaulted. She alleged that mom didn’t wish to take care of the state of affairs. As a result of, she was dropped off at a homeless shelter in Hollywood, a two-and-a-half-hour drive away from residence. Sergio alleged that after dropping her off, the matriarch had the costs in opposition to the one that assaulted her dropped.

Janae Sergio discovered herself on the streets of Hollywood at age 16.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I needed to flee the abuse,” mentioned Sergio. “I needed to flee to a secure place. I needed to be in a loving residence. On one hand, I believed this saved my life as a result of the abuse was attending to be extra aggressive. She was changing into extra enraged in her beatings. In some Situations, I genuinely thought I used to be going to die if she did not cease. So I used to be relieved to be out of that state of affairs. However the expertise of surviving on the road is sort of equally traumatizing and fearful.”

“I had homeless males chase me down the road,” she continued. “There have been a number of makes an attempt to lure me into intercourse trafficking. There have been moments once I wished my mother would come again and get me as a result of I liked her and I needed her to like me… I hadn’t accepted the truth that she did not need me. There have been a number of situations the place I reached out to her and tried to get her to return get me… As a child, you simply need your mother.”

Sergio mentioned she went into “survival mode.” She befriended those that had been on their very own for a lot longer than she was, and so they took her beneath their wing. She reached out to packages for at-risk youth in Los Angeles the place she sought steerage and met with counselors keen to assist.

PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘YOU CAN BE A HERO AND WEAR RED LIPSTICK’

Janae Sergio on the day she enlisted within the Navy.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I bear in mind in my first week, I met a woman my age,” mentioned Sergio. “Her physique was utterly degraded. She had craters, she was extraordinarily skinny. She appeared unhealthy. She had already been roped into the intercourse trafficking commerce, and she or he was addicted closely to heroin. I simply bear in mind she advised me, ‘You don’ t need this for your self. No matter you do, keep away from medicine. Keep out of this life. Simply get out of right here.’ I stored that on the forefront of my thoughts your complete time.”

Janae Sergio was amongst the primary service members to be forward-deployed in assist of Operation Enduring Freedom.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

In keeping with Sergio, certainly one of her buddies had joined the Navy. The buddy’s recruiter, who discovered about Sergio, invited the homeless teen out for lunch. A suggestion was made that Sergio couldn’t refuse.

“The recruiter satisfied me that I am going to at all times be by the ocean, and I am going to get to journey the world,” mentioned Sergio. “These had been issues that I had by no means envisioned for myself. I had by no means been on a airplane earlier than. I had nothing else going for me. So I used to be going to provide this a strive. There was nothing to lose right here. And it was actually the most effective choices of my life.”

Janae Sergio met the solid of 2001’s ‘Pearl Harbor’ which starred Kate Beckinsale (left).
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

Sergio joined the Navy in 2000 at age 18. She can be among the many first service members to be forward-deployed aboard the USS John C Stennis one month after the 9/11 assaults to kick off Operation Enduring Freedom. Her Navy achievements embrace twin warfare certifications and 4 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals (NAMs).

BOB HOPE’S LETTERS TO AMERICAN TROOPS DURING WWII CHRONICLED IN BOOK: IT ‘AFFECTED HIS ENTIRE LIFE’

Janae Sergio graduating faculty.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is the trail that God [was] was going to take me on, and I used to be going to be OK as a result of I had already survived a lot,” mentioned Sergio. “… I used to be scared. I used to be nervous. Nevertheless it was proper after 9/11. So our pleasure in our nation and our patriotism had been extraordinarily excessive. I felt like I used to be being referred to as for my function to serve this nation.”

Sergio served eight years of energetic responsibility and has served as a civilian ever since. At present, she is Chief of Air Drive Lodging, the place she manages a portfolio of 88 Air Drive Inns. She additionally launched a web-based boutique impressed by her love of style.

Janae Sergio and her household.
(White Field Media)

“Once I joined the Navy, I used to be working at a clothes retailer on Melrose Boulevard,” she mentioned. “My dream was to proceed within the subject… I liked serving within the navy, however I by no means actually received to observe my ardour. In 2019, I gained slightly little bit of a social media following. I assumed I had the affect to begin a enterprise. And I needed to assist different ladies discover what works for his or her our bodies… I needed to indicate individuals you can be within the navy, however nonetheless have a love of style and embrace that. You do not have to separate the 2. I have been doing that for 3 years now. It has been fantastic.”

Janae Sergio went on to pursue her love of style.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

The proud spouse and mother of two daughters hopes that her story will encourage others to by no means quit, it doesn’t matter what circumstances they’re in.

’40S STAR CAROLE LANDIS, SEEMINGLY FORGOTTEN TODAY, ‘EMBODIED A REAL SENSE OF UNITY’ DURING WWII, AUTHOR SAYS

“We’re all going to undergo hardships in our lives,” she mentioned. “In my guide, I speak quite a bit about being your personal hero. And it is not that others will not assist you. However they might not be able to serving to you. So you’ll be able to’t sit round and wait for somebody to return rescue you… You could by no means get out. You might be your personal hero… I wish to be an inspiration to others. I imagine we heal by serving to others. And I do imagine you’ll be able to change your personal story.”

Janae Sergio’s jaw dropped when she first noticed herself remodeled right into a ’40s pinup – it had been a protracted journey for the previous homeless teen who discovered her residence within the US Navy.

“I had left Hollywood as a homeless teenager, and I joined the navy as a homeless teenager,” the now-40-year-old advised Fox Information Digital. “Right here I used to be coming again as a mannequin getting my hair finished, my make-up finished, simply feeling valued and admired.”

“It was virtually an out-of-body expertise,” she continued. “I bear in mind working in a shoe retailer and anyone had stolen my backpack. If you’re a homeless individual, that is all you have got. I bear in mind feeling so helpless. Like I used to be no person. Right here I used to be, strolling on those self same streets now as an completed girl, right here for this photoshoot. I simply felt like I made it one way or the other.”

The Southern California native was Miss April 2020 for the annual Pin-Ups for Vets calendar. The award-winning nonprofit, based in 2006 by California resident Gina Elise, raises funding to assist hospitalized and deployed troops. It famously produces WWII-inspired bombshell calendars that includes veterans as fashions.

FORMER BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER PILOT JANA TOBIAS ON POSING FOR PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S ME’

Since its launch, Pin-Ups for Vets has donated over $100,000 to assist hospitals buy new rehabilitation tools and to offer monetary help for veterans’ well being care program growth throughout the nation. Through the pandemic, Pin-Ups for Vets has been delivery out care packages enclosed with items of appreciation to hospitalized veterans. It continues to mail morale-boosting care packages to deployed US troops across the globe.

Janae Sergio’s early Navy years onboard USS John C. Stennis.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“Once I noticed my images for the primary time, I assumed, ‘Who’s she?'” Sergio chuckled. “‘She’s so fairly.’ I used to be so grateful for the chance as a result of the muse offers a serving to hand to these in want. However what Gina does for each girl in that calendar is inexplicable. You are feeling empowered to inform your story. I am eternally grateful for her.”

“This is among the most empowering veteran organizations I’ve ever labored with,” Sergio continued. “It raises consciousness on our vets. All of us volunteer to be on the calendar. It additionally brings collectively an unimaginable group of inspiring feminine veterans who’re hardworking and completed. I’ve met so many unimaginable individuals by the group, and it is actually an honor to proceed supporting it.”

Right this moment, Sergio is telling his story. Just lately she wrote a memoir titled “Completely Flawed – A Veteran’s Journey from Homeless to Hero,” which particulars how she went from being a 16-year-old on the streets to becoming a member of the Navy and making her mark as a profitable businesswoman.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Janae Sergio has written a memoir titled ‘Completely Flawed’.
(White Field Media)

“I assumed the life I used to be residing was regular,” she mirrored on her childhood. “It was across the age of 13-14 once we began going to church. I began to get to know different individuals who had loving households and regular households. That is once I began to talk up in opposition to the abuse I used to be enduring. Nevertheless it solely received worse. It got here to some extent the place my mother despatched me to reside along with her sister, who was a veteran. My aunt needed to maintain me away from that atmosphere, however ultimately, my mother confirmed up with the police. to please not ship me again. However the police advised her that my mother was my guardian.”

A younger Janae Sergio.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is when my aunt went inside and advised me to run,” mentioned Sergio.

Rising up, Sergio by no means met her father. Her mom was a single mother or father by age 17. Sergio, who mentioned she got here from “two very lengthy strains of household dysfunction,” described ending alleged bodily and verbal abuse from her mother and “her numerous male companions.”

“I simply bear in mind being 14, working down a hill barefooted, working from the police, working from my mother, afraid of the results,” Sergio defined. “It was very late at evening. It was pitch black outdoors. I discovered a shopping mall and hid behind a type of massive potted crops. I stayed there shivering… I feel the police understood the state of affairs… However I used to be returned residence and entered extra abuse.”

PIN-UPS FOR VETS PUTS A SPOTLIGHT ON FEMALE VETERANS POSING AS BOMBSHELLS TO RAISE MONEY FOR AMERICAN HEROES

Sergio mentioned that by the point she turned 16, she was sexually assaulted. She alleged that mom didn’t wish to take care of the state of affairs. As a result of, she was dropped off at a homeless shelter in Hollywood, a two-and-a-half-hour drive away from residence. Sergio alleged that after dropping her off, the matriarch had the costs in opposition to the one that assaulted her dropped.

Janae Sergio discovered herself on the streets of Hollywood at age 16.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I needed to flee the abuse,” mentioned Sergio. “I needed to flee to a secure place. I needed to be in a loving residence. On one hand, I believed this saved my life as a result of the abuse was attending to be extra aggressive. She was changing into extra enraged in her beatings. In some Situations, I genuinely thought I used to be going to die if she did not cease. So I used to be relieved to be out of that state of affairs. However the expertise of surviving on the road is sort of equally traumatizing and fearful.”

“I had homeless males chase me down the road,” she continued. “There have been a number of makes an attempt to lure me into intercourse trafficking. There have been moments once I wished my mother would come again and get me as a result of I liked her and I needed her to like me… I hadn’t accepted the truth that she did not need me. There have been a number of situations the place I reached out to her and tried to get her to return get me… As a child, you simply need your mother.”

Sergio mentioned she went into “survival mode.” She befriended those that had been on their very own for a lot longer than she was, and so they took her beneath their wing. She reached out to packages for at-risk youth in Los Angeles the place she sought steerage and met with counselors keen to assist.

PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘YOU CAN BE A HERO AND WEAR RED LIPSTICK’

Janae Sergio on the day she enlisted within the Navy.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I bear in mind in my first week, I met a woman my age,” mentioned Sergio. “Her physique was utterly degraded. She had craters, she was extraordinarily skinny. She appeared unhealthy. She had already been roped into the intercourse trafficking commerce, and she or he was addicted closely to heroin. I simply bear in mind she advised me, ‘You don’ t need this for your self. No matter you do, keep away from medicine. Keep out of this life. Simply get out of right here.’ I stored that on the forefront of my thoughts your complete time.”

Janae Sergio was amongst the primary service members to be forward-deployed in assist of Operation Enduring Freedom.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

In keeping with Sergio, certainly one of her buddies had joined the Navy. The buddy’s recruiter, who discovered about Sergio, invited the homeless teen out for lunch. A suggestion was made that Sergio couldn’t refuse.

“The recruiter satisfied me that I am going to at all times be by the ocean, and I am going to get to journey the world,” mentioned Sergio. “These had been issues that I had by no means envisioned for myself. I had by no means been on a airplane earlier than. I had nothing else going for me. So I used to be going to provide this a strive. There was nothing to lose right here. And it was actually the most effective choices of my life.”

Janae Sergio met the solid of 2001’s ‘Pearl Harbor’ which starred Kate Beckinsale (left).
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

Sergio joined the Navy in 2000 at age 18. She can be among the many first service members to be forward-deployed aboard the USS John C Stennis one month after the 9/11 assaults to kick off Operation Enduring Freedom. Her Navy achievements embrace twin warfare certifications and 4 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals (NAMs).

BOB HOPE’S LETTERS TO AMERICAN TROOPS DURING WWII CHRONICLED IN BOOK: IT ‘AFFECTED HIS ENTIRE LIFE’

Janae Sergio graduating faculty.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is the trail that God [was] was going to take me on, and I used to be going to be OK as a result of I had already survived a lot,” mentioned Sergio. “… I used to be scared. I used to be nervous. Nevertheless it was proper after 9/11. So our pleasure in our nation and our patriotism had been extraordinarily excessive. I felt like I used to be being referred to as for my function to serve this nation.”

Sergio served eight years of energetic responsibility and has served as a civilian ever since. At present, she is Chief of Air Drive Lodging, the place she manages a portfolio of 88 Air Drive Inns. She additionally launched a web-based boutique impressed by her love of style.

Janae Sergio and her household.
(White Field Media)

“Once I joined the Navy, I used to be working at a clothes retailer on Melrose Boulevard,” she mentioned. “My dream was to proceed within the subject… I liked serving within the navy, however I by no means actually received to observe my ardour. In 2019, I gained slightly little bit of a social media following. I assumed I had the affect to begin a enterprise. And I needed to assist different ladies discover what works for his or her our bodies… I needed to indicate individuals you can be within the navy, however nonetheless have a love of style and embrace that. You do not have to separate the 2. I have been doing that for 3 years now. It has been fantastic.”

Janae Sergio went on to pursue her love of style.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

The proud spouse and mother of two daughters hopes that her story will encourage others to by no means quit, it doesn’t matter what circumstances they’re in.

’40S STAR CAROLE LANDIS, SEEMINGLY FORGOTTEN TODAY, ‘EMBODIED A REAL SENSE OF UNITY’ DURING WWII, AUTHOR SAYS

“We’re all going to undergo hardships in our lives,” she mentioned. “In my guide, I speak quite a bit about being your personal hero. And it is not that others will not assist you. However they might not be able to serving to you. So you’ll be able to’t sit round and wait for somebody to return rescue you… You could by no means get out. You might be your personal hero… I wish to be an inspiration to others. I imagine we heal by serving to others. And I do imagine you’ll be able to change your personal story.”

Janae Sergio’s jaw dropped when she first noticed herself remodeled right into a ’40s pinup – it had been a protracted journey for the previous homeless teen who discovered her residence within the US Navy.

“I had left Hollywood as a homeless teenager, and I joined the navy as a homeless teenager,” the now-40-year-old advised Fox Information Digital. “Right here I used to be coming again as a mannequin getting my hair finished, my make-up finished, simply feeling valued and admired.”

“It was virtually an out-of-body expertise,” she continued. “I bear in mind working in a shoe retailer and anyone had stolen my backpack. If you’re a homeless individual, that is all you have got. I bear in mind feeling so helpless. Like I used to be no person. Right here I used to be, strolling on those self same streets now as an completed girl, right here for this photoshoot. I simply felt like I made it one way or the other.”

The Southern California native was Miss April 2020 for the annual Pin-Ups for Vets calendar. The award-winning nonprofit, based in 2006 by California resident Gina Elise, raises funding to assist hospitalized and deployed troops. It famously produces WWII-inspired bombshell calendars that includes veterans as fashions.

FORMER BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER PILOT JANA TOBIAS ON POSING FOR PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S ME’

Since its launch, Pin-Ups for Vets has donated over $100,000 to assist hospitals buy new rehabilitation tools and to offer monetary help for veterans’ well being care program growth throughout the nation. Through the pandemic, Pin-Ups for Vets has been delivery out care packages enclosed with items of appreciation to hospitalized veterans. It continues to mail morale-boosting care packages to deployed US troops across the globe.

Janae Sergio’s early Navy years onboard USS John C. Stennis.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“Once I noticed my images for the primary time, I assumed, ‘Who’s she?'” Sergio chuckled. “‘She’s so fairly.’ I used to be so grateful for the chance as a result of the muse offers a serving to hand to these in want. However what Gina does for each girl in that calendar is inexplicable. You are feeling empowered to inform your story. I am eternally grateful for her.”

“This is among the most empowering veteran organizations I’ve ever labored with,” Sergio continued. “It raises consciousness on our vets. All of us volunteer to be on the calendar. It additionally brings collectively an unimaginable group of inspiring feminine veterans who’re hardworking and completed. I’ve met so many unimaginable individuals by the group, and it is actually an honor to proceed supporting it.”

Right this moment, Sergio is telling his story. Just lately she wrote a memoir titled “Completely Flawed – A Veteran’s Journey from Homeless to Hero,” which particulars how she went from being a 16-year-old on the streets to becoming a member of the Navy and making her mark as a profitable businesswoman.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Janae Sergio has written a memoir titled ‘Completely Flawed’.
(White Field Media)

“I assumed the life I used to be residing was regular,” she mirrored on her childhood. “It was across the age of 13-14 once we began going to church. I began to get to know different individuals who had loving households and regular households. That is once I began to talk up in opposition to the abuse I used to be enduring. Nevertheless it solely received worse. It got here to some extent the place my mother despatched me to reside along with her sister, who was a veteran. My aunt needed to maintain me away from that atmosphere, however ultimately, my mother confirmed up with the police. to please not ship me again. However the police advised her that my mother was my guardian.”

A younger Janae Sergio.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is when my aunt went inside and advised me to run,” mentioned Sergio.

Rising up, Sergio by no means met her father. Her mom was a single mother or father by age 17. Sergio, who mentioned she got here from “two very lengthy strains of household dysfunction,” described ending alleged bodily and verbal abuse from her mother and “her numerous male companions.”

“I simply bear in mind being 14, working down a hill barefooted, working from the police, working from my mother, afraid of the results,” Sergio defined. “It was very late at evening. It was pitch black outdoors. I discovered a shopping mall and hid behind a type of massive potted crops. I stayed there shivering… I feel the police understood the state of affairs… However I used to be returned residence and entered extra abuse.”

PIN-UPS FOR VETS PUTS A SPOTLIGHT ON FEMALE VETERANS POSING AS BOMBSHELLS TO RAISE MONEY FOR AMERICAN HEROES

Sergio mentioned that by the point she turned 16, she was sexually assaulted. She alleged that mom didn’t wish to take care of the state of affairs. As a result of, she was dropped off at a homeless shelter in Hollywood, a two-and-a-half-hour drive away from residence. Sergio alleged that after dropping her off, the matriarch had the costs in opposition to the one that assaulted her dropped.

Janae Sergio discovered herself on the streets of Hollywood at age 16.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I needed to flee the abuse,” mentioned Sergio. “I needed to flee to a secure place. I needed to be in a loving residence. On one hand, I believed this saved my life as a result of the abuse was attending to be extra aggressive. She was changing into extra enraged in her beatings. In some Situations, I genuinely thought I used to be going to die if she did not cease. So I used to be relieved to be out of that state of affairs. However the expertise of surviving on the road is sort of equally traumatizing and fearful.”

“I had homeless males chase me down the road,” she continued. “There have been a number of makes an attempt to lure me into intercourse trafficking. There have been moments once I wished my mother would come again and get me as a result of I liked her and I needed her to like me… I hadn’t accepted the truth that she did not need me. There have been a number of situations the place I reached out to her and tried to get her to return get me… As a child, you simply need your mother.”

Sergio mentioned she went into “survival mode.” She befriended those that had been on their very own for a lot longer than she was, and so they took her beneath their wing. She reached out to packages for at-risk youth in Los Angeles the place she sought steerage and met with counselors keen to assist.

PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘YOU CAN BE A HERO AND WEAR RED LIPSTICK’

Janae Sergio on the day she enlisted within the Navy.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I bear in mind in my first week, I met a woman my age,” mentioned Sergio. “Her physique was utterly degraded. She had craters, she was extraordinarily skinny. She appeared unhealthy. She had already been roped into the intercourse trafficking commerce, and she or he was addicted closely to heroin. I simply bear in mind she advised me, ‘You don’ t need this for your self. No matter you do, keep away from medicine. Keep out of this life. Simply get out of right here.’ I stored that on the forefront of my thoughts your complete time.”

Janae Sergio was amongst the primary service members to be forward-deployed in assist of Operation Enduring Freedom.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

In keeping with Sergio, certainly one of her buddies had joined the Navy. The buddy’s recruiter, who discovered about Sergio, invited the homeless teen out for lunch. A suggestion was made that Sergio couldn’t refuse.

“The recruiter satisfied me that I am going to at all times be by the ocean, and I am going to get to journey the world,” mentioned Sergio. “These had been issues that I had by no means envisioned for myself. I had by no means been on a airplane earlier than. I had nothing else going for me. So I used to be going to provide this a strive. There was nothing to lose right here. And it was actually the most effective choices of my life.”

Janae Sergio met the solid of 2001’s ‘Pearl Harbor’ which starred Kate Beckinsale (left).
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

Sergio joined the Navy in 2000 at age 18. She can be among the many first service members to be forward-deployed aboard the USS John C Stennis one month after the 9/11 assaults to kick off Operation Enduring Freedom. Her Navy achievements embrace twin warfare certifications and 4 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals (NAMs).

BOB HOPE’S LETTERS TO AMERICAN TROOPS DURING WWII CHRONICLED IN BOOK: IT ‘AFFECTED HIS ENTIRE LIFE’

Janae Sergio graduating faculty.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is the trail that God [was] was going to take me on, and I used to be going to be OK as a result of I had already survived a lot,” mentioned Sergio. “… I used to be scared. I used to be nervous. Nevertheless it was proper after 9/11. So our pleasure in our nation and our patriotism had been extraordinarily excessive. I felt like I used to be being referred to as for my function to serve this nation.”

Sergio served eight years of energetic responsibility and has served as a civilian ever since. At present, she is Chief of Air Drive Lodging, the place she manages a portfolio of 88 Air Drive Inns. She additionally launched a web-based boutique impressed by her love of style.

Janae Sergio and her household.
(White Field Media)

“Once I joined the Navy, I used to be working at a clothes retailer on Melrose Boulevard,” she mentioned. “My dream was to proceed within the subject… I liked serving within the navy, however I by no means actually received to observe my ardour. In 2019, I gained slightly little bit of a social media following. I assumed I had the affect to begin a enterprise. And I needed to assist different ladies discover what works for his or her our bodies… I needed to indicate individuals you can be within the navy, however nonetheless have a love of style and embrace that. You do not have to separate the 2. I have been doing that for 3 years now. It has been fantastic.”

Janae Sergio went on to pursue her love of style.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

The proud spouse and mother of two daughters hopes that her story will encourage others to by no means quit, it doesn’t matter what circumstances they’re in.

’40S STAR CAROLE LANDIS, SEEMINGLY FORGOTTEN TODAY, ‘EMBODIED A REAL SENSE OF UNITY’ DURING WWII, AUTHOR SAYS

“We’re all going to undergo hardships in our lives,” she mentioned. “In my guide, I speak quite a bit about being your personal hero. And it is not that others will not assist you. However they might not be able to serving to you. So you’ll be able to’t sit round and wait for somebody to return rescue you… You could by no means get out. You might be your personal hero… I wish to be an inspiration to others. I imagine we heal by serving to others. And I do imagine you’ll be able to change your personal story.”

Janae Sergio’s jaw dropped when she first noticed herself remodeled right into a ’40s pinup – it had been a protracted journey for the previous homeless teen who discovered her residence within the US Navy.

“I had left Hollywood as a homeless teenager, and I joined the navy as a homeless teenager,” the now-40-year-old advised Fox Information Digital. “Right here I used to be coming again as a mannequin getting my hair finished, my make-up finished, simply feeling valued and admired.”

“It was virtually an out-of-body expertise,” she continued. “I bear in mind working in a shoe retailer and anyone had stolen my backpack. If you’re a homeless individual, that is all you have got. I bear in mind feeling so helpless. Like I used to be no person. Right here I used to be, strolling on those self same streets now as an completed girl, right here for this photoshoot. I simply felt like I made it one way or the other.”

The Southern California native was Miss April 2020 for the annual Pin-Ups for Vets calendar. The award-winning nonprofit, based in 2006 by California resident Gina Elise, raises funding to assist hospitalized and deployed troops. It famously produces WWII-inspired bombshell calendars that includes veterans as fashions.

FORMER BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER PILOT JANA TOBIAS ON POSING FOR PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S ME’

Since its launch, Pin-Ups for Vets has donated over $100,000 to assist hospitals buy new rehabilitation tools and to offer monetary help for veterans’ well being care program growth throughout the nation. Through the pandemic, Pin-Ups for Vets has been delivery out care packages enclosed with items of appreciation to hospitalized veterans. It continues to mail morale-boosting care packages to deployed US troops across the globe.

Janae Sergio’s early Navy years onboard USS John C. Stennis.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“Once I noticed my images for the primary time, I assumed, ‘Who’s she?'” Sergio chuckled. “‘She’s so fairly.’ I used to be so grateful for the chance as a result of the muse offers a serving to hand to these in want. However what Gina does for each girl in that calendar is inexplicable. You are feeling empowered to inform your story. I am eternally grateful for her.”

“This is among the most empowering veteran organizations I’ve ever labored with,” Sergio continued. “It raises consciousness on our vets. All of us volunteer to be on the calendar. It additionally brings collectively an unimaginable group of inspiring feminine veterans who’re hardworking and completed. I’ve met so many unimaginable individuals by the group, and it is actually an honor to proceed supporting it.”

Right this moment, Sergio is telling his story. Just lately she wrote a memoir titled “Completely Flawed – A Veteran’s Journey from Homeless to Hero,” which particulars how she went from being a 16-year-old on the streets to becoming a member of the Navy and making her mark as a profitable businesswoman.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Janae Sergio has written a memoir titled ‘Completely Flawed’.
(White Field Media)

“I assumed the life I used to be residing was regular,” she mirrored on her childhood. “It was across the age of 13-14 once we began going to church. I began to get to know different individuals who had loving households and regular households. That is once I began to talk up in opposition to the abuse I used to be enduring. Nevertheless it solely received worse. It got here to some extent the place my mother despatched me to reside along with her sister, who was a veteran. My aunt needed to maintain me away from that atmosphere, however ultimately, my mother confirmed up with the police. to please not ship me again. However the police advised her that my mother was my guardian.”

A younger Janae Sergio.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is when my aunt went inside and advised me to run,” mentioned Sergio.

Rising up, Sergio by no means met her father. Her mom was a single mother or father by age 17. Sergio, who mentioned she got here from “two very lengthy strains of household dysfunction,” described ending alleged bodily and verbal abuse from her mother and “her numerous male companions.”

“I simply bear in mind being 14, working down a hill barefooted, working from the police, working from my mother, afraid of the results,” Sergio defined. “It was very late at evening. It was pitch black outdoors. I discovered a shopping mall and hid behind a type of massive potted crops. I stayed there shivering… I feel the police understood the state of affairs… However I used to be returned residence and entered extra abuse.”

PIN-UPS FOR VETS PUTS A SPOTLIGHT ON FEMALE VETERANS POSING AS BOMBSHELLS TO RAISE MONEY FOR AMERICAN HEROES

Sergio mentioned that by the point she turned 16, she was sexually assaulted. She alleged that mom didn’t wish to take care of the state of affairs. As a result of, she was dropped off at a homeless shelter in Hollywood, a two-and-a-half-hour drive away from residence. Sergio alleged that after dropping her off, the matriarch had the costs in opposition to the one that assaulted her dropped.

Janae Sergio discovered herself on the streets of Hollywood at age 16.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I needed to flee the abuse,” mentioned Sergio. “I needed to flee to a secure place. I needed to be in a loving residence. On one hand, I believed this saved my life as a result of the abuse was attending to be extra aggressive. She was changing into extra enraged in her beatings. In some Situations, I genuinely thought I used to be going to die if she did not cease. So I used to be relieved to be out of that state of affairs. However the expertise of surviving on the road is sort of equally traumatizing and fearful.”

“I had homeless males chase me down the road,” she continued. “There have been a number of makes an attempt to lure me into intercourse trafficking. There have been moments once I wished my mother would come again and get me as a result of I liked her and I needed her to like me… I hadn’t accepted the truth that she did not need me. There have been a number of situations the place I reached out to her and tried to get her to return get me… As a child, you simply need your mother.”

Sergio mentioned she went into “survival mode.” She befriended those that had been on their very own for a lot longer than she was, and so they took her beneath their wing. She reached out to packages for at-risk youth in Los Angeles the place she sought steerage and met with counselors keen to assist.

PIN-UPS FOR VETS: ‘YOU CAN BE A HERO AND WEAR RED LIPSTICK’

Janae Sergio on the day she enlisted within the Navy.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“I bear in mind in my first week, I met a woman my age,” mentioned Sergio. “Her physique was utterly degraded. She had craters, she was extraordinarily skinny. She appeared unhealthy. She had already been roped into the intercourse trafficking commerce, and she or he was addicted closely to heroin. I simply bear in mind she advised me, ‘You don’ t need this for your self. No matter you do, keep away from medicine. Keep out of this life. Simply get out of right here.’ I stored that on the forefront of my thoughts your complete time.”

Janae Sergio was amongst the primary service members to be forward-deployed in assist of Operation Enduring Freedom.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

In keeping with Sergio, certainly one of her buddies had joined the Navy. The buddy’s recruiter, who discovered about Sergio, invited the homeless teen out for lunch. A suggestion was made that Sergio couldn’t refuse.

“The recruiter satisfied me that I am going to at all times be by the ocean, and I am going to get to journey the world,” mentioned Sergio. “These had been issues that I had by no means envisioned for myself. I had by no means been on a airplane earlier than. I had nothing else going for me. So I used to be going to provide this a strive. There was nothing to lose right here. And it was actually the most effective choices of my life.”

Janae Sergio met the solid of 2001’s ‘Pearl Harbor’ which starred Kate Beckinsale (left).
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

Sergio joined the Navy in 2000 at age 18. She can be among the many first service members to be forward-deployed aboard the USS John C Stennis one month after the 9/11 assaults to kick off Operation Enduring Freedom. Her Navy achievements embrace twin warfare certifications and 4 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals (NAMs).

BOB HOPE’S LETTERS TO AMERICAN TROOPS DURING WWII CHRONICLED IN BOOK: IT ‘AFFECTED HIS ENTIRE LIFE’

Janae Sergio graduating faculty.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

“That is the trail that God [was] was going to take me on, and I used to be going to be OK as a result of I had already survived a lot,” mentioned Sergio. “… I used to be scared. I used to be nervous. Nevertheless it was proper after 9/11. So our pleasure in our nation and our patriotism had been extraordinarily excessive. I felt like I used to be being referred to as for my function to serve this nation.”

Sergio served eight years of energetic responsibility and has served as a civilian ever since. At present, she is Chief of Air Drive Lodging, the place she manages a portfolio of 88 Air Drive Inns. She additionally launched a web-based boutique impressed by her love of style.

Janae Sergio and her household.
(White Field Media)

“Once I joined the Navy, I used to be working at a clothes retailer on Melrose Boulevard,” she mentioned. “My dream was to proceed within the subject… I liked serving within the navy, however I by no means actually received to observe my ardour. In 2019, I gained slightly little bit of a social media following. I assumed I had the affect to begin a enterprise. And I needed to assist different ladies discover what works for his or her our bodies… I needed to indicate individuals you can be within the navy, however nonetheless have a love of style and embrace that. You do not have to separate the 2. I have been doing that for 3 years now. It has been fantastic.”

Janae Sergio went on to pursue her love of style.
(Courtesy of Janae Sergio)

The proud spouse and mother of two daughters hopes that her story will encourage others to by no means quit, it doesn’t matter what circumstances they’re in.

’40S STAR CAROLE LANDIS, SEEMINGLY FORGOTTEN TODAY, ‘EMBODIED A REAL SENSE OF UNITY’ DURING WWII, AUTHOR SAYS

“We’re all going to undergo hardships in our lives,” she mentioned. “In my guide, I speak quite a bit about being your personal hero. And it is not that others will not assist you. However they might not be able to serving to you. So you’ll be able to’t sit round and wait for somebody to return rescue you… You could by no means get out. You might be your personal hero… I wish to be an inspiration to others. I imagine we heal by serving to others. And I do imagine you’ll be able to change your personal story.”