WASHINGTON (Army News Service) -- Lt. Gen. Nadja West was interviewed on Facebook's "Lean In Live" show, Thursday evening, by Sheryl Sandberg, the social media organization's chief operating officer.
Sandberg said it was an honor to have the Army's first African-American female three-star general on the show. West is also the highest-ranking woman to graduate from West Point and the Army's first African-American surgeon general.
West grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, as the youngest of 12 children. She said her parents and siblings taught her a lot about leadership and humility.
"My dad joined the Army in 1939, when it was segregated," she said. "He saw in the Army -- and he saw in the military -- kind of a potential that our nation could get better, because the Army was the first at desegregating."
Her father taught that service, humility and being a part of something bigger than self was important, she said.
West said her mother was "an activist," as well as a reporter for the newspaper "Afro-American," which now publishes out of nearby Baltimore. West said her mother was instrumental in getting Arlington National Cemetery desegregated.
Three of West's sisters are in the Army, and one sister is in the Air Force. Additionally, several of her brothers have also served in the military as well, she said.
West went off to the U.S. Military Academy when she was 17 years old. "I was a scaredy-cat" then, she said, adding other female students there told her to get tough.
Sometimes "a little bit of a jolt" can be mentoring, she said. So could a little nod of the head. "That's all it would take sometimes to say I'm not alone ... hang in there, hang tough."
The shared experience of the Army makes people stronger, she said. She learned from a diverse group of students at West Point. One of her roommates was from Johnson, Nebraska -- a town of 150 at that time. Another roommate was from Toms River, New Jersey, and a third was from Marshall, Wisconsin.
"I never would have gone to those places," she said, adding that learning from a cross-section of different people helps develop better leadership.
West earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from West Point and a Doctorate of Medicine degree from George Washington University.
West said that she didn't think that she was good enough to go medical school, but a mentor convinced her. She was visiting her dad in the hospital and she confided with a Walter Reed surgeon that she wasn't going to apply to medical school.
"What?" he said. "What's the worst that could happen?" He encouraged her to apply and of course, now she is the Army's surgeon general.
"Do not ever let anyone sway you from your dreams," West said as advice to young women. "If you can think it and you can dream it and you're prepared --- go for it. Don't hold back."
West's message to all Americans for Veteran's Day: don't pity or stereotype veterans. On average, veterans earn $10,000 more than those who never served, she said. Veterans are also more likely to be active in civic life, have a higher propensity to vote and volunteer more often in their communities.
"They're strong members of the fabric of our society," she said. "They took the skills they learned in the military and now are being great citizens of our nation."
At the beginning of Sandberg's show, she asked "How do you lean in?"
"So the first thing that comes to mind is just always being prepared and just being myself," West said. "Believe it or not. ...Sometimes you feel that you have to play a role ... because you never think that being yourself is enough. And so, you finally get to a point where you know that 'I just have to be who I am.' Be authentic..."
The following excerpts are from a "lightning round" of questions at the end of the interview:
Q: Favorite class at West Point?
A: Math
Q: Person from history that you'd most like to have dinner with?
A: Colin Powell. That's recent history. From past history: St. Theresa of Avalon. I've read a few books on her. She was this amazing person from history -- a woman back in the Middle Ages who had the power and did the things that she did.
Q: Last book you read?
A: The last book I read was quite a tear-jerker. It was ... The Higher Call ... it was about the German and American pilots who actually helped each other ... It showed we're all humans.
Q: One biggest piece of health advice?
A: Sleep is very important ... My predecessor, Patty Horoho, was the surgeon general ... she implemented the Performance Triad -- sleep, nutrition, activity ... People, I don't think realize the importance of sleep for overall health.
Q: One more thing you'd do if you weren't afraid?
A: Go out into space. I'm not afraid, I just don't know if I'll have time to do it.
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Army.mil: Women in the U.S. Army
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