Why I Started McLamb Consulting & Support: Finding Purpose After the Uniform

If you've ever been to Fayetteville, North Carolina, you'll understand what I mean when I say it can feel like a black hole.

For me, it always represented chaos.

Growing up there, I spent a lot of my life searching for somewhere I felt like I belonged. Somewhere I wasn't judged for my clothes, where I came from, or the way I spoke. I grew up speaking country and ebonics, and there were always people ready to make fun of it.

Then I joined the Army.

The Army became my escape.

More importantly, it became my purpose.

For the first time, I wasn't surrounded by people who cared where I grew up. I was surrounded by people from every corner of the country—and the world. Everyone had a different accent. Different backgrounds. Different stories.

Nobody cared.

We all wore the same uniform.

We all had a mission.

We all belonged.

The Army Didn't Just Give Me a Career

People often ask about my military career, and yes, I'm incredibly proud of it.

I served as a paralegal in South Korea, Fort Bragg, Fort McNair, Fort Drum, and Fort Stewart. I deployed to Iraq and Kuwait during Operation New Dawn. I supported everything from battalion-level operations to one of the largest military justice cases in modern history. I worked hundreds of Special Victim cases, trained legal professionals across the Army, and eventually earned the rank of Sergeant First Class.

But when I look back...

Those accomplishments aren't what stand out first.

I remember the leaders who invested in me.

The Soldiers who became family.

The mentors who believed I was capable of more than I believed myself.

The feeling that every day, my work mattered to someone.

That feeling is hard to replace.

When the Uniform Came Off

Medical retirement wasn't part of my plan.

Neither was losing my dad.

Or watching my grandmother's health decline.

Or hearing that my mom had Stage IV liver cancer.

Then COVID arrived.

Like many veterans, I suddenly found myself without the structure that had defined my adult life. I was trying to figure out where I belonged while grieving the people I loved most.

For the first time in over a decade...

I didn't have a mission.

Healing Didn't Happen Overnight

People often see the books, the business, and everything I'm doing today.

What they don't always see is that none of it happened overnight.

Before I started McLamb Consulting & Support, I had to start healing.

Writing became part of that healing.

My first book, Shining Through: A Journey of Love and Resilience, wasn't written because I wanted to become an author. It was written because I needed a way to process everything I'd lived through—from childhood trauma and military service to grief, family, and learning how to rebuild after life changed direction. What started as a personal healing process eventually became my debut memoir.

Writing reminded me of something I had almost forgotten.

My purpose had never been tied to wearing a uniform.

My purpose had always been serving people.

Why I Started McLamb Consulting & Support

That realization is what led me here.

McLamb Consulting & Support wasn't created because I wanted to own a business.

It was created because I wanted to continue serving people—just in a different way.

Whether I'm helping someone build a resume, organize their business documents, prepare professional paperwork, or simply navigate a confusing process, my goal is the same as it was in the Army:

Make someone's life a little easier.

Help them move forward.

Help them find clarity.

Service didn't end when I hung up my uniform.

It simply found a new home.

Purpose Looks Different in Every Season

Looking back, I can see that every chapter of my life prepared me for this one.

The Army taught me discipline.

Grief taught me compassion.

Writing taught me healing.

And owning a business has taught me that purpose doesn't disappear when one chapter closes.

Sometimes it simply asks us to serve in a different way.

If there's one thing I've learned, it's this:

Purpose isn't found in a job title or a uniform. It's found in how you choose to impact the lives of others.