BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Waterloo
native Jacqueline Isabell in shown here in a December 2012 photo, when
she was promoted to a major in the U.S. Army Reserve. She is an Atlanta
bankruptcy attorney, served a tour of duty in Iraq and was awarded the
Bronze Star.
WATERLOO, Iowa --- Decorated career U.S. Army Reserve officer. Atlanta bankruptcy attorney. Dedicated single mother.
Those are not three individuals, but one.
Jacqueline Isabell, a graduate of East High School and the University of Iowa, was recently promoted to major in the Reserve. She served a deployment in Iraq in 2004-05 and was awarded the Bronze Star.
Her military training is useful in counseling bankruptcy clients.
"Finances you can come back from. Some injuries you can't. It's death," she said "People that we deployed with, that we supported, had died and were injured. People that we marched with. I had to send their belongings back to their families."
She served in a postal unit supporting the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division, called the "Screaming Eagles" for their unit patch. "I was a platoon leader in charge of post offices. I ran five post offices in Iraq." While in a supporting position, a couple of those installations were subject to attack.
Asked how she balances her military and civilian jobs, she said, "When the Army calls, the Army calls. My (civilian) job is very flexible with that. They're very flexible with my time. I just try to give them as much notice as possible."
Her daughter, Dallas, now 13, was in kindergarten while she was in Iraq, and stayed then with Jacqueline's mother, Hazel Isabell of Waterloo.
Isabell saw the military as a way through college.
"I had a friend in college who joined. I was always a little interested. My ultimate goal was to be able to pay for law school. I joined, and 18 years later, here I am."
She received her law degree in 2007 from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Auburn Hills, Mich., near Detroit. Initially, she worked as a personal injury attorney before turning to bankruptcy work, as the economy took a downturn.
She sees a variety of clients, from "doctors to housekeepers," and her military background has helped her in that regard, because she's dealt with everyone from enlisted personnel to generals --- and moved up through the ranks herself. She enlisted as a private first class while an undergraduate at Iowa, where she joined ROTC after completing basic training.
"In the military, as an officer, you have to take charge for some people. It's a difficult decision; it's a hard decision to file bankruptcy. So my take-charge attitude, the ability to talk to people from all walks of life, helps me, being able to talk through situations, so my clients will be able to make the correct decisions --- if they file, what chapter they file under.
"A lot of the time they just want someone to guide them, take their hand, see what they're doing," Isabell said. "My military background equips me to be able to take charge" during troubled times for her clients.
Isabell also serves on the board of trustees of Foundation Christian Academy. In addition to her Bronze Star, she holds the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal.
Those are not three individuals, but one.
Jacqueline Isabell, a graduate of East High School and the University of Iowa, was recently promoted to major in the Reserve. She served a deployment in Iraq in 2004-05 and was awarded the Bronze Star.
Her military training is useful in counseling bankruptcy clients.
"Finances you can come back from. Some injuries you can't. It's death," she said "People that we deployed with, that we supported, had died and were injured. People that we marched with. I had to send their belongings back to their families."
She served in a postal unit supporting the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division, called the "Screaming Eagles" for their unit patch. "I was a platoon leader in charge of post offices. I ran five post offices in Iraq." While in a supporting position, a couple of those installations were subject to attack.
Asked how she balances her military and civilian jobs, she said, "When the Army calls, the Army calls. My (civilian) job is very flexible with that. They're very flexible with my time. I just try to give them as much notice as possible."
Her daughter, Dallas, now 13, was in kindergarten while she was in Iraq, and stayed then with Jacqueline's mother, Hazel Isabell of Waterloo.
Isabell saw the military as a way through college.
"I had a friend in college who joined. I was always a little interested. My ultimate goal was to be able to pay for law school. I joined, and 18 years later, here I am."
She received her law degree in 2007 from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Auburn Hills, Mich., near Detroit. Initially, she worked as a personal injury attorney before turning to bankruptcy work, as the economy took a downturn.
She sees a variety of clients, from "doctors to housekeepers," and her military background has helped her in that regard, because she's dealt with everyone from enlisted personnel to generals --- and moved up through the ranks herself. She enlisted as a private first class while an undergraduate at Iowa, where she joined ROTC after completing basic training.
"In the military, as an officer, you have to take charge for some people. It's a difficult decision; it's a hard decision to file bankruptcy. So my take-charge attitude, the ability to talk to people from all walks of life, helps me, being able to talk through situations, so my clients will be able to make the correct decisions --- if they file, what chapter they file under.
"A lot of the time they just want someone to guide them, take their hand, see what they're doing," Isabell said. "My military background equips me to be able to take charge" during troubled times for her clients.
Isabell also serves on the board of trustees of Foundation Christian Academy. In addition to her Bronze Star, she holds the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal.
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