Young Reservist aims to serve others around the world

At 23, Shelby Green has already collected a lifetime of experiences, from volunteering in Africa and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to working with Afghan refugees in Bahrain.

And there’s more to come. The De Soto native, who serves in the U.S. Navy Reserve, recently relocated to Colorado where she works as a patient care tech in a hospital emergency room while filling her free time with backpacking, snowboarding, ice-climbing and other adventures.

“I’m trying everything — it’s a short life,” she said.

Green, a petty officer second class, recently signed up with the American Red Cross in hopes of going overseas to help Ukrainian refugees. Meanwhile, she’s also applying to medical schools. Once accepted, she will put in her bid for a spot in a special Navy program that will help pay her way and lead to a commission as an officer.

Ultimately, her goal is an active career in trauma medicine, as a first responder internationally through Doctors Without Borders or perhaps in a search and rescue role. “I want to be outside, anything fast-paced and interesting,” she said. “I can’t be a specialist in [just] one thing.”

Volunteered for deployment

Green enlisted in the Navy Reserve in 2016 when she was a freshman in college. She was majoring in pre-med and working part-time as a certified nurse assistant. She hoped to be assigned as a medical corpsman, but no spots were available. Instead, she became an intelligence specialist.

After completing her training, she volunteered for a one-year deployment to Bahrain. She worked as a lead targeting analyst who was responsible for a team of five other analysts. “It was overwhelming at first,” she said. “I was only 22 at the time.”

While in Bahrain, her unit was selected to set up a medical facility to assist with the thousands of Afghan refugees fleeing their war-torn country. She and her unit are set to receive the Humanitarian Service Medal from the Navy for their hard work.

“We were pulling 24-hour shifts,” Green said. “We would have three or four flights a day with 300 or 400 people on a flight. It was a very humbling experience. It was heartbreaking, but amazing to be able to help in some way.”

An experience in Africa

Green was 19 when she joined a volunteer medical mission to Tanzania through International Volunteer HQ, which she found through an internet search. In Tanzania, she worked in a small hospital alongside doctors and nurses and helped transport medicine and supplies to more remote villages in East Africa.

“That experience really set in stone that this is my goal in life,” she said. “It honestly was the best experience ever.”

Before returning home to the States, Green was invited to join a group of Canadian medical volunteers on their six-day trip to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest peak.

“They had a spot open still,” she said. “I was in good shape, but not having my gear made it pretty difficult. I had to rent gear and buy hiking shoes and socks from a used clothing stand.”

In March this year, Green embarked on yet another adventure – moving to Durango, Colorado – where she works as a patient care tech in a hospital emergency room.

Her contract with the Reserve ends in December, but she hopes to be accepted into medical school and the Navy’s Health Professions Scholarship Program.

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