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Jose "Pepe" Cervantes
"There is no higher calling than serving our nation’s heroes."
I started my public service career as a county social worker for Child Protective Services.
I loved that job, but had a passion for military service. As a Deaf-born person, I am not allowed to serve in the military. For me, the next best thing is to serve those who served. I’m proud to say that I now work at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) where I am the Chief of Systems Planning and Operations for the Veterans Benefits Administration’s (VBA) Compensation Services Program Office. In this role, it is my responsibility to improve the functionality of our existing claims processing systems for disability compensation benefits. In my experience, there is no higher calling than serving our nation’s heroes.
In previous roles outside of the VA, I always had to fight for accommodations as a person with a disability. However, when I came to the VA, all of my Veteran colleagues embraced me quickly as one of their own since many of them had service-connected disabilities. They did not see me as a disabled person but as a passionate public servant. I have loved every minute of my time at the VA and all that we do to serve Veterans!
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