1LT Donna M. McAleer Oral History

title:

1LT Donna M. McAleer Oral History

creator:

McAleer, Donna Michelle (Matturro) (1965 September 23 -

subject:

US Military Academy (USMA) | Army

description:

Donna M. McAleer (born Matturro) was born in September 1965 in Yonkers, New York. Her father was a corporate attorney, and her mother worked as a biologist then was a stay-at-home mom. She grew up with a brother and sister who were both adopted, and her brother joined the Air Force. She went to high school in Nashville, Tennessee after her father got a promotion there. She played a lot of sports in school, and was contacted by a liaison from West Point because of her athletics. Although she was initially interested in joining the Air Force because she had seen a Thunderbird show with her family, she chose West Point because of the leadership roles that would be available through the Army. She concentrated her studies in organizational dynamics and leadership, along with the engineering courses everyone at West Point had to take at the time. She participated in ski racing as her primary sport, which helped her leave campus more often than other sports would have. Her time at West Point pushed her in every capacity—physical, mental, spiritual, and more—which has helped her in difficult situations moving forward in life. As of the interview, Donna was on West Point’s board of directors and on the board of West Point Women. In 1999, she went back to West Point to receive training to help her pursue a dream of hers: becoming an Olympic bobsledder. She finished fourth in the qualifying round and only the top two were selected, but returning to West Point in this way changed her relationship with the school. Being embraced and helped by the community so much in that pursuit inspired her to move from corporate to nonprofit work. She worked at a health clinic in Park City, Utah to provide medical care to people who did not have health insurance. She married a classmate at the academy who she met when they both visited the campus as seniors in high school. She recommends the academies for anyone looking for a holistic challenge, and for cadets she encourages them to look into the opportunities available to them over summers and in their leave time. She branched into military police after graduating, mostly because she thought she would have more options for picking her post. She went to advanced course in Alabama, then served in a 212th MP company in Germany as a platoon leader and executive officer. From there, she interviewed and took a position as a deputy public affairs officer in Germany, and branch transferred to engineer corps. She resigned her commission in 1991 to pursue an MBA at the University of Virginia. She married her husband just before they went to their first station out of West Point, so they were able to be stationed together in Germany. The most influential people in her career were those who told her she couldn’t do something, which forced her to look for new ways and supports to help her pursue her goal. After completing her graduate program, she worked as a consultant and moved to Utah with her husband. After working as a consultant, she grew tired of not having the responsibility that comes with working at a specific business, so she began working at a manufacturing firm in Boston, Massachusetts. This is the position she left to pursue bobsled training for the 2002 Olympics. She encourages everyone to be open to things they wouldn’t otherwise pursue, whether it’s related to miliary service or not. When Donna left the service, she had reached the rank of 1st lieutenant. A transcript of this interview is not currently available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Maliszewski, Jane

date:

2006-10-21

type:

Moving Image

format:

mini-DV

identifier:

617; 2006.617

source:

OHP | 3rd Annual Academy Women Symposium

language:

English

relation:

617385

coverage:

1980s | 1990s | 1983-1987 | 1987-1991

rights:

Unrestricted