Jackie Harsha is one of the many new teachers at Edmond Memorial High School and she has huge plans for her career. Outside of teaching, Harsha is a part of the U.S. Space Force and will be leaving EMHS to work with the military next year. With one of her degrees being in Spanish, Harsha was able to use teaching as a transition job, utilizing her bilingual skills. She teaches Spanish I and II here at EMHS.
“She was in Italy this summer and we had to do our interview through Zoom,” EMHS Principal Brandi Wheeler said. “Since I have a minor in Spanish, it was easy for us to talk to each other and see if she was knowledgeable enough to teach.”
The military instills different skills including commitment and dedication. The skills needed for teaching can be connected to the military so Harsha was the perfect fit. She found inspiration to join the military because of her mother, who was in the Civil Air Patrol and her father who was in the Army.
“When I was 12…I also joined the Civil Air Patrol and did Junior ROTC in high school,” Harsha said. “I knew I wanted to be in the military but didn’t know which branch yet.”
The Space Force, being the newest branch of the U.S. military, is largely unknown. Guardians, the name for Space Force members, focus on protecting, researching and controlling space from other countries. Having such little knowledge of Space makes it valuable to world powers. The branch is operated at the Pentagon under the Air Force branch, similar to the Navy operating the Marine Corps.
“As far as I know I’ll be in a skiff [isolated room] working as a space operations officer with satellites,” Harsha said. “I could be in command and control, electronic warfare or doing orbiteer things.”
Most day-to-day actions are classified, so Harsha has limited knowledge on what she will be doing, but she will move to work in California and then could be moved to a classified base Since there are fewer Space Force bases than other branches, location options are limited.
Being a Space Force officer is a huge honor and having Oklahoma’s second officer here at EMHS is a rare opportunity. Joining something new and unknown can be difficult, but Harsha’s decision to join shows her character and strong personality.
Contact Ian Humphreys at [email protected]
