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Samantha Hayes Reporting Evacuees from Hurricane Katrina faced more than a climate change when they came to Utah. But for one young woman, Utah is now home, and she's wearing a uniform that proves it.
This is one of those stories about how life changes in ways you never expect. Moniqueca Hamilton says after everything that happened after Hurricane Katrina, things are starting to fall into place.
The uniform is a little big, but Moniqueca Hamilton says because of it her life is starting to fit just right.
Pvt. Moniqueca Hamilton/ Utah National Guard: "It was a sign everything was changing, but in a good way."
It all changed in a bad way for Hamilton when Hurricane Katrina hit and she had to leave Slidell, Louisiana, for Salt Lake City, Utah.
Hamilton: "I was pregnant. We didn't have anything. I was scared."
Life is about to change again, but this time it's her choice. Hamilton says she'll be serving her country and securing a better life for herself, and her son.
Hamilton: "It does hurt thinking about being away from him for a long time. But it's for a good reason."
And if it were not for the hurricane, Hamilton says she may never have taken this step.
Hamilton: "Down there, I was not quite sure about what I wanted to do. When all this happened, it gave me a plan, something I could sit down and set goals and know I could achieve."
And she already knows a thing or two about what the Army expects.
Hamilton: "I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrad."
Hamilton: "I have not quit yet, and I don't plan on quitting."
Hamilton starts basic training in June. She'll be gone for four months. She knows there is a chance of deployment after that, but she says it's still worth it, and she plans to go to college with the National Guard's assistance.
