Soar with Collins Aerospace

Brianna Stimson

Mineman Second Class Surface Warfare Specialist Brianna Stimson served in the United States Navy from September 2009 through 2019, eight years active duty and two in the reserves. She first served at the Naval Munitions command East Asia Division in Okinawa, Japan where she maintained and serviced a variety of underwater mines. By the end of her first enlistment, she was the Sailor of the Year for her division and had earned her associate degree in general studies.

After Japan, she was off to assist with the commissioning of the Littoral Comat Ship the USS Coronado in San Diego, California. Once commissioned, she transferred to the USS Independence where the crew spent nine months testing the capabilities of the mine warfare mission package. Brianna supervised a team of 20 in the maintenance and service of underwater mine detection equipment valued over $21B. She delegated tasks and ensured the completion of over 400 preventative and corrective maintenance checks.

Additionally, Brianna acted as the crew's volunteer event coordinator. She partnered with corporations in San Diego, California, and Pensacola, Florida to plan volunteer events, logging over 1K volunteer hours across nearly 100 personnel. By the end of her second enlistment, Brianna had finished her bachelor's degree in business management and was recognized as the Sailor of the Year for not only her crew of ~120 sailors but for the entire Naval Base San Diego.

With her degree in hand and acceptances into multiple grad school programs, Brianna ultimately made the tough decision to separate from active duty, join the reserves, and go to grad school. She packed up her cat Alice and made the drive from California back to Connecticut to attend the University of Connecticut's MBA and MSHRM programs. During her time at UConn, Brianna landed an HR Co-op at Collins Aerospace. She has since graduated, converted to a full-time employee, and acts as a campus manager on the early careers team. In her role, she manages the relationship between Collins and several focus universities. She is able to tie her passion of supporting veterans into her role and thoroughly enjoys it.