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Name: Airman 1st Class Shelby Richardson

Unit: 52nd Medical Operation Squadron

Duty title: Medical technician

Hometown: Richland, Wash.

Years in Service: One year, nine months

Why joined: I knew I would join at 15 and practically lived in my recruiter's office until the day I shipped out at 18. Of course, I wanted the education, travel and to get away from home. But the more I doubted, the more I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn't all talk -- I could excel and succeed at something as significant as the military. I wanted to better myself in a way that a university or nursing program couldn't. I wanted to be that crusty, old grandma telling embellished military stories about how the Air Force changed her life.

Family: My mother, Michele; step-father, Doug; my sisters, Carli and Paige; my brothers, Gavin and Landin; grandmother, Nita; grandfather, Mike; and cousin, Rachel

Hobbies: Baking, cooking, exercising in spin class, reading, traveling, watching movies

Favorite aspect of job: I truly feel like I improve a person's quality of life and well-being on a daily basis.

Most memorable Air Force experience: I was working the in intensive-care unit at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., on my first patient, ever. The patient was an older, retired gentleman who had a list of medical conditions, one being 'sun downers.' Others told me I was wasting my time talking to him while performing my duties and informing him of work I was doing on him, but I kept doing what I felt was right. A few weeks later while working in a different ward, I walked into my assigned room and was pleased to see this bright-eyed gentleman. The second I greeted him, a smile came across his face and tears in his eyes as he grabbed my hand and said, "I remember you, thank you." It stills gives me goose bumps and chills when I think about it, because at that moment I knew I made a positive impact on one person's life.

How do you make responsible choices: I think to myself every day, "Make Mom proud." If it's something that I wouldn't want my mother to know, I don't do it.