Melissa served as a Navy cryptologist with top-secret clearance in Germany. That same meticulous scrutiny applies to her work at Corning. Melissa is now a process technician, who calculates the performances of Corning products by measuring load forces on glass or the retardance of a material, for example.

In the Navy, Melissa traveled around the world, learning from people and communities.

“In a way, that was my early exposure to diversity and the different cultures that we see here at Corning,” she says.

Melissa is an active member of C-VETS, Corning’s employee resource group for veterans, and she enjoys planning events for her fellow veterans – whether it’s their annual bowling game or a socially distanced hike. Around remembrance holidays, C-VETS members pay their respects at Veterans Affairs hospitals and lay wreaths at local cemeteries.

Whether in the Navy or at Corning, for Melissa, it’s all about the comradery, she says.

“Being part of C-VETS has made my veteran identity more important to me. There’s just something about being a veteran. You’re part of a fraternity,” she says.

Veterans have an unbroken bond, Melissa says. Inside jokes and playful prodding make working with veterans extra fun, she says.

“There’s a certain amount of competitiveness throughout the branches of the military,” Melissa says. “We all kind of pick on each other.”