Two of Chief Patricia Schipp’s favorite things are the United States Navy and working with young people. Considering those two things, becoming a Naval Science Instructor for the Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Program was a no-brainer.

Chief Schipp said, “Being an NJROTC Iinstructor allows me to remain connected to my beloved Navy, allows me to be “The Chief” on a daily basis, and allows me to make a difference — hopefully — in the lives of my cadets. All that and I get paid too. What more could a gal ask for?”

Chief Schipp is a Midwestern country girl who grew up in Minnesota. It is from there that she enlisted in the United States Navy at just 17. After 22 years of traveling the globe in service to her country, she retired from the Navy in 2001. The Chief considers herself extremely fortunate to have landed a job as a Naval Science Instructor at North Chicago Community High School in North Chicago, Ill., less than a month after her retirement from the Navy.

“I knew that I wanted to be a Naval Science Instructor,” she explained, “but I had no idea just how perfect the fit would be for me.” As she got acclimated to her new environment, Chief Schipp found she loved the structure and discipline of the program and the opportunity to work side by side with cadets out in the community. She also quickly developed a passion for military drill and started coaching the NJROTC competitive drill teams, which she has been doing ever since.

Chief Schipp spent nine years with that NJROTC program before moving to the Southwest in 2010. When she arrived, there were no openings for an NJROTC instructor in any of the Albuquerque, Santa Fe or Los Alamos programs, so she spent a year in Albuquerque working with a youth mentoring program at Goodwill before landing the job as the third Naval Science Instructor for NJROTC at Santa Fe High.

“I love what I do,” she said. “There is nothing like the look and sound of a platoon of sharply dressed cadets marching in perfect step, or the satisfaction of watching the growth and upward progression of a cadet from freshman to senior year, or seeing the smiles on a cadet’s face as they realize the reward of giving back in the community.” Chief Schipp said she plans to continue instructing in NJROTC until she can no longer keep up with the cadets or until they drive her to “the brink of crazy.”

Chief Schipp has two grown children; Cory and Ashley, and three grandchildren, Isabelle, Layla and Remington. When not attending an NJROTC competition or working alongside her cadets out in the community, Chief Schipp loves to hike, camp, watch movies and attend country music concerts. (Yes, this princess prefers cowboy boots.)