Single mom transitions from National Guard to police officer
Single mother uses university’s veterans resource station to prepare for law enforcement career
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (WXIX) - A Northern Kentucky University student and Army National Guard soldier is preparing for her next mission as a police officer while using the university’s veterans resource station to help with her transition.
Audrey Rowland, a single mother of a 4-year-old daughter, will graduate from NKU in May and begin working as a police officer for the city of Highland Heights.
Rowland’s military journey began early.
At age 12, she joined the Northern Kentucky Young Marines program after her cousin told her she couldn’t do it because she was a girl.
“My cousin, he was like, ‘You can’t do it because you’re a girl,’” Rowland said. “And that kind of like lit a fire underneath me, and I just wanted to prove him wrong and end up becoming a higher rank than what he was.”
She enlisted in the Army National Guard at 19 and has been deployed to multiple locations, including Texas, Romania and Poland.
Balancing military service and motherhood
The most challenging aspect of her military service has been time away from her daughter.
“My mom has helped watch my daughter, who is four,” Rowland said. “She watched her the entire year that I was gone.”
As she transitions out of the military, Rowland is using NKU’s veterans resource station to connect with other service members.
The station helps service members transition to civilian life.
“I will be a police officer for the city of Highland Heights, so that’s really exciting,” Rowland said. “I think everything in my life has progressed to this point in being a police officer, not only in the military, but also on the civilian side. So I’m very excited.”
When thanked for her service, Rowland said the recognition is meaningful.
“Even now, like when you say it, ‘thank you for your service,’ it makes you kind of tear up a little bit because I sacrificed time away from my family and my goals and what I wanted to do, but I’m glad I did it,” she said. “I’m glad I served. It does mean a lot when someone thanks me for my service.”
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