Vanessa Allen Experiences Exceptional Life

By Judy Ausley

Vanessa Allen had a big dream in 1975, when she approached the most exciting time of her young life. This young woman, reared in Asheville, took the biggest step of her life when she joined the United States Air Force in 1975.

It was a different day in Asheville when she was growing up in the 1970s. There was a beautiful downtown with lots of successful businesses like Belk and J.C. Penney’s, but there was also strife and discontent, and not many good jobs for a young black woman.

Factories and mills were still operating in those days, and
manufacturing was the life-blood of communities like Hickory, Morganton,
and Asheville. There were also many folks living in the rural areas in
Western North Carolina who were still growing tobacco for the markets in
the state.

The 1970s were also a time when women were beginning to step
forward and demand equality, especially in larger cities in the north.
Vanessa didn’t want to settle for factory or farm work. “I wanted more
of life,” Vanessa recalls, “and I refused to become a statistic with no
ambition.”

She realized even as a young woman that the only way to make
something of herself on her terms was to leave Asheville. Her drive and
determination to make her way into a career of some kind led her to the
best possible decision—to enlist in the Air Force.

Her mother, Mrs. Celestine Allen, who still resides in Asheville,
and her father, the late William Allen, Sr., both gave her lots of
support in her growing up and the choices she made.

“Their wisdom when I was growing up is one of the strongest
reasons I was prepared to reach my dreams in life,” she says now, with a
soft-tone in her voice and demeanor.

Vanessa’s assignments in the U.S. Air Force took her into many
communities and environments all over the world, and she reminisces that
during her service she never thought about moving back home to
Asheville. She rotated to Japan, Sicily, and Germany, and stateside at
the Pentagon. In Washington, DC she served in the Air Force Honor Guard,
and she also had tours of duty in North Dakota and Oklahoma where, with
21 years of service, she reached the rank of Master Sergeant.

As a servicewoman, Vanessa developed a love for community
involvement. As the mother of two children (Brandon and Melanie), she
enjoyed being a Little League mom, and she grew experienced as a keynote
speaker at banquets and meetings. And when she retired, she enolled at
Troy State University where she earned a BS in Applied Science and an MS
in Human Resources Management.

With her training and record of service, Vanessa is well
qualified for her second career. She works for the Department of
Veterans Affairs Charles George Medical Center in Oteen as a Staffing
and Recruitment Specialist. Among the services she provides is assisting
veterans to get jobs by teaching them Strategic Resume Writing,
Interviewing Skills and Techniques, conducting training seminars in
Asheville at ABCCM veterans quarters and at Goodwill Industries.

With her children now grown, Vanessa recalls that she always
wanted to become a role model for young women in Asheville. She hoped to
influence them to be independent, to stay in school—or return for a
GED—and attend college. She is fulfilling that goal in numerous ways
both within and beyond her job.

She is a member of the West Asheville Community Baptist Church
and of the Society for Human Resource Management. She feels honored to
work for Quinton Miller’s organization, Getting Back to the Basics, and
strives to help as many veterans and young people at risk in Asheville
and Buncombe County as she possibly can.

Vanessa Allen-Grant has come full circle, both in her career and in returning to the place she once called home – Asheville.

“I believe in the concept of paying it forward, and each one,
reach one,” she says. “My goal is to assist where and when I can to help
someone get on the right track.”