Growing up, Christina Burgess had no idea just how much her upbringing would impact the profession she has come to fall in love with. That’s partly because, like many of us, Christina didn’t end up pursuing the medical career she was convinced she was on track for up until her freshman year at Virginia Commonwealth University.

This was partly because it’s often difficult to grasp the magnitude of what’s happening around you as a child. But the resilience, adaptability, and discipline she learned as the daughter of an Army Colonel and Chaplain have played a major role in her success as a broadcast news journalist today.

Born on a military base in Missouri, Christina has lived in a total of nine states and two countries, with her family remaining on the move until she started college.

“That exposure to different backgrounds, cultures, people from different religions, it definitely shaped who I am today. And it gave me such a greater understanding of how to be a journalist, but also be a person.”

It’s also taught her to advocate for others, which she says she’s done since she was a child. Advocacy frames Christina’s work, as she makes it a point to approach every interview subject as a person whose story and perspective deserve to be shared.

While having to move every few years might sound challenging to some, Christina remembers her parents’ successful intentionality in making each transition seamless for their three children.

“It was always the same process: Dad came home, we found out we had a new duty station; and once I got older, I realized that both of my parents had their own checklist of things that needed to get done.”

She adapted a checklist of her own, which started with letting friends know that she would be leaving at the end of the school year, or sometimes during the school year. What could have been a challenging life shift was softened by the fact that the Burgesses lived on base and in community with other Army families who had done or were preparing to do the same.

Her parents also made it a point to create a special moment for Christina and her friends from both school and church, so that her final memories with each group did not center around the move itself. And once they arrived at their new duty station, the Burgess family had its own set of traditions – from touring their new base and city together, to finding ways to entertain themselves until their belongings arrived – that helped to not only strengthen their bond, but to teach the children what it means to build community. And how to always find their way in the world.

“It was fun, my parents kept it real and honest about how things are in life, but there was also structure. With my dad’s position as an officer, we knew that a lot of times there was a lens on us; so we were taught how to carry ourselves at an early age.”

That early social education has given Christina the ability to walk into any room or professional setting with confidence, simply because she never feels out of place. Coupled with her familiarity with constant, rapid and sometimes major changes, it has allowed her to excel and stand out in vastly different newsrooms and markets.

Today, Christina Burgess is at First Coast News in Jacksonville, Florida – a station which intentionally keeps a focus on the lives of troops and veterans across the United States Armed Forces. She takes special pride in sharing the stories of Army veterans, especially when she’s able to find common ground between their experiences and hers.

She enjoys getting to know the people in the largest city in Florida and keeping them abreast of the multitude of stories that impact their lives. And while being back on the East Coast places her closer to her parents, she knows this won’t be her last stop.

“When you meet someone, the first thing they ask is, ‘Where are you from?,” she explains. “I call South Carolina ‘home.’ But all of the places that I’ve lived are part of my home, because of the memories, lessons and people who played an intricate part in who I am.

“I still love traveling,” she continues. “I never know when I’m gonna stop moving, and people assume that’s because I grew up in the Army. But funny enough, my little brother is the complete opposite. His current plan is to move to one place when he graduates from college and stay there. Which just goes to show that every Army kid’s experience is a little different.”

Explore more of today’s Army life from the eyes of soldiers and their families by visiting our Blavity Army Content Hub.