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Home : Media : News
NEWS | May 22, 2019

NSWC Crane employee uses career experience to cultivate workforce community

By NSWC Crane Corporate Communications

CRANE, Ind. – Tiana Roach was working full-time while pursuing a Business Management degree when her father sent her a link to apply to the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) Pathways Program. The Pathways Internship Program allows college students to work part-time for the federal government.

“I applied hoping to start a career here, not really expecting to qualify,” says Roach, a Financial Management Analyst at NSWC Crane. “I am thankful I was selected for the program. I wouldn’t have thought to apply at Crane without my father’s support.”

Currently, Roach ensures the Missile Energy Systems Branch has the funding they need to conduct full spectrum engineering and extensive testing and evaluation of thermal missile and rechargeable battery systems.

“When people think of Crane, they might first think of the scientists and engineers,” says Roach. “I never thought about how much the business community supports the warfighter until I worked here, and I am thankful for that opportunity.”

Roach says her coworkers serve as a considerable support network.

“I truly didn’t understand how much that support meant until my son got very ill in 2016,” says Roach. “We were not sure if he was going to make it; he had to have three brain surgeries. The amount of love and support my family was surrounded with was so humbling. There were people from Crane, who I had never met, that were reaching out to ask how they could help us. I never expected it to feel like a family with the thousands of employees that work here, but it truly is.”

Roach is part of the Employees in the Business and Financial Management Division (10F). 10F employees are embedded within technical divisions to serve their needs, working side-by-side in support of the mission. Roach says the reinforcement she receives from her teammates and managers have helped her gain confidence at work; she helps lead a new initiative to make sure 10F employees are integrated into their roles.

“In addition to the onboarding that new hires go through, I am working with the 10F Workforce Development Team to develop specialized, in-person training that will offer 10F personnel with a more broad sense of financial knowledge. New employees will be prepared for what could happen, they will be able to solve problems more efficiently, and it will give them a better sense of comfort on-the-job.”

Roach says she enjoys her role in serving the warfighter.

“I’m honored to be part of the robust business community at Crane and each day I gain a greater appreciation of how integral our work is, enabling the technical community to focus on what they do best—innovate.”

NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with mission areas in Expeditionary Warfare, Strategic Missions and Electronic Warfare. The warfare center is responsible for multi-domain, multi- spectral, full life cycle support of technologies and systems enhancing capability to today's Warfighter.