Evelyn
Fields grew up knowing she would go to college one day, because her parents
told her so from her earliest childhood. Little did her parents know, however,
that their belief in her and their strong commitment to education would underlie
her future of continual "firsts."
Her uniform speaks volumes - distinction,
authority and respect. Her title speaks of the strides made by thousands of
African-American military personnel. Her accomplishments speak for themselves.
Rear Admiral Evelyn Fields
is the first African American and first woman to become director of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Officers Corps, the
nation’s seventh uniformed service. Nominated by U.S. President Bill Clinton,
she was confirmed for the position by the U.S. Senate and officially assumed
her command in July 1999.
"The secret
to success is in yourself, your own
drive and determination."
The NOAA Commissioned
Officers Corps is a small, elite corps of officers, all with college degrees
in science, engineering or mathematics, who serve within the many environmental
research programs of NOAA.
Armed with a bachelor’s degree in
mathematics, Adm. Fields graduated from Norfolk State College (now Norfolk State
University) in 1971. She began her career with NOAA as a civilian cartographer
at the Atlantic Marine Center in Norfolk, Virginia in 1972. One year later,
when NOAA began recruiting women into its commissioned service, she became the
first African-American woman to join the Corps.
Now the most senior woman in the
Corps, Adm. Fields not only serves as Corps director but as director of the
Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, another first. This office operates
and manages the agency’s fleet of environmental research ships and aircraft.
During her career, the Norfolk,
Virginia native has received a variety of commendations and awards, most recently,
the 1999 Ralph M. Metcalfe Health, Education and Science Award from the Congressional
Black Caucus Foundation.
To the next generation of trailblazers,
the Admiral offers these words of encouragement: "The secret to success
is in yourself, your own drive and determination and ability to make your own
opportunities. You will also need all the courage you can muster, the type of
courage that allows you to take chances and make mistakes, but most of all,
to believe in yourself."
