Printer Friendly Page
WOMAN TAKES SOLDIERS' WELFARE TO HEART --
At 23 years old, Brittney Briggs has shown
she can make a difference.
Surrounded by hockey memorabilia
from her college career, Brittney Briggs proudly shows her
Challenge Coin from Operation Helmet, imprinted with the prase
"The life you save may save another." (Photo by ALAN WARD / DAILY
PRESS & ARGUS) |
Story here...
http://www.dailypressandargus.com/
apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200703
06/NEWS01/703060319/1002
Story below:
---------------
Woman takes soldiers' welfare to heart
By Lisa Roose-Church
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
At 23 years old, Brittney Briggs has shown she can make a difference.
The Brighton resident works with her father, retired Air Force Maj.
Richard Briggs, to help servicemembers through the Michigan chapter of
Operation Helmet, which provides potentially life-saving helmet padding
free of charge to members of the U.S. military stationed in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
She also is involved with Head Injured Survivors of America, which helps
veterans with closed- head injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder;
and with the Brain Injury Association of Michigan and the Michigan
Military Mothers Livingston County branch.
Her interest stems from personal concern — her brother, Jeremy, is
stationed in Iraq as a specialist in the Michigan Army National Guard's
144th Military Police Company.
She also has a professional interest. A psychology graduate from Colgate
University in New York, Briggs studied post-traumatic stress disorder in
military combatants returning from Iraq and Afghanistan for her senior
thesis.
"I was interested in improvised explosive devices, or IED, warfare and
whether or not it has an impact on the development of PTSD," she
explained. "I became interested in the topic because I was talking to my
brother Jeremy, who just got back from boot camp, about IED warfare. It
seemed to me that there would be an increase in PTSD among veterans
because of the nature of IEDs."
IEDs are bombs hidden in everyday objects such as trash on the side of
the road or in cans, shrubs, etc., and Briggs' hypothesis concluded that
when troops came home and were driving down the road, their tactical
awareness would be considered "hyper-vigilance" because everyday objects
could trigger combat flashbacks or other PTSD symptoms. Her hypothesis
did not pan out because she had to use indirect assessment methods, but
she continues to pursue the subject.
"I learned a great deal from my thesis and am looking forward to getting
my (doctorate) so I can conduct more studies on the topic," she said.
Since beginning that venture, Briggs has helped raised money to fund the
group's initial goal of 200 kits before going national. Today, just
under 1,000 requests for servicemen and servicewomen are needed.
"It has been a rewarding project," she said.
Briggs considered joining the military but eventually set that idea
aside in favor of putting her bachelor's degree to work. She hopes to
one day start a nonprofit organization geared toward helping military
combatants and their families with mental health issues.
"As long as I make a difference — as much difference as I can make in
other people's lives — then I am happy," she said. "And I need to never
quit learning and growing. Personal development and helping others are
both very important to me."
Briggs has taken her personal education seriously.
She attended Brighton High School in her freshman year before
transferring to Culver Academy in Culver, Ind., her sophomore year. She
graduated from Culver in 2002, and attended Boston College and Colgate
University, where she played hockey, as well as attended a class at New
York University one summer.
Hockey, she said, was a tool she used to help open opportunities and
achieve her life's goals.
She has skated since age 4 and she has played on travel teams most of
her life. She tried out for the U.S. Olympic development camp in Lake
Placid, N.Y., which is where top players gather in hopes of being
scouted for a national or Olympic team. She was selected three of the
four years she tried out.
"I was selected once for offense; twice for defense," she said. "I
retired during my junior year at Colgate because I wanted to focus more
on my academics and make time for other hobbies like photography."
Briggs still makes time, however, to play or coach hockey. She also
enjoys scrapbooking, coaching and playing hockey, and working out. She
also dances and enjoys some karaoke.
Contact Daily Press & Argus reporter Lisa Roose-Church at (517) 552-2846
or at lrchurch@gannett.com.
---------------
Larry Scott --
