If you ask Johannis Parris what she is most proud of, she won’t mention her recent promotion to Chief Warrant Officer 3 was merit based; an asterisk affixed to her name indicating she is among the very best in her field.
It won’t be her selection as the Chief Warrant Officer 4 William L. Ruf Leadership award recipient during Warrant Officer Candidate School. A distinction voted on by more than 100 of her classmates for exhibiting the attributes that best epitomizes a leader.
It won’t be her rise to Sergeant 1st Class before attending Warrant Officer Candidate School, the stack of medals that adorn her chest, or the myriad of accolades that hang in her office.
While she doesn’t discount the spoils she’s earned in uniform, it’s not what defines her most.
She reserves that for the title she assumed at the age of 15. Mom.
Against the odds
At 16 years old, Parris was kicked out of her house with her 10-month-old baby in tow.
It was the fallout from a relationship that never materialized, a tumultuous relationship with her mother, and no other options for her to turn to as a teenage mom.
“My mom was not the best and she’s still a troubled woman,” said Parris. “I don’t know my father, so at 16, it was just my son and I in foster care. It was really tough.”
Parris grew up in Puerto Rico as the middle child of five brothers and sisters. Her earliest memories are collections of strife between her and her mom, coupled with moments of hope her siblings manufactured relying on each other to survive.
While her great grandmother was active in life during her childhood, her mom’s mom, her eyesight worsened with age until she became legally blind and could no longer care for Parris and her siblings.
For Parris, that meant a crash course on learning how to be self-reliant.
When I was 17 in foster care, I had been dating someone for a while and we decided to get married. It was an opportunity to get out of the system and try to live a better life, said Parris.
Parris married her then-husband, and about a year later they welcomed their daughter Stephanie into the world.
At 17, Parris was a mother of two, working at Baskin-Robbins and a full-time college student. Her plate was full with the demands of life, but her bank statements nearly empty as her young family struggled financially.
Looking for opportunities to give her kids a better life, a mutual friend serving as an Army Reserve recruiter talked to her about joining the service. She evaluated her options and within weeks Parris departed for basic training with a contract to serve as an automated logistics specialist.
Upon returning to Puerto Rico and spending a few drill weekends with her unit, Parris met with a warrant officer recruiter to discuss the path to become the Army’s technical expert. He told her to get more experience, focus on her job, and earn a promotion or two before submitting her packet.
Parris noted the advice and sought opportunities for growth.
When my unit was preparing to deploy to Iraq, I saw it as an opportunity to learn and boost my warrant officer packet. I knew it would be hard to leave my children, but I felt I needed to go to give my kids a better life, said Parris.
Finding her footing
Parris’s homecoming was far from what she envisioned. Her marriage didn’t last, and as a result, she was back to being a single mom.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work between my husband and I. But I was fortunate to have my best friend there. Leslie has always been there for me and my kids, and she helped me during what was one of my toughest times, said Parris.
For the next 18 months, Parris bounced between various Active Duty Operational Support orders while also balancing being a full-time student. It was a trying time for Parris and her kids, and she knew she had to make a change to give her kids a better life.
“I have this memory of my mom in Puerto Rico serving dinner to me and my brother,” said Stephanie Parris. “We didn’t have a lot of money, so she would wait to eat whatever leftovers were available, if any. She was always putting us first.”
Parris had been wanting to leave Puerto Rico because she felt there were more opportunities in the United States. In 2011, she transferred to the Army Guard Reserve and accepted an assignment to Fort Shafter, Hawaii.
The move wasn’t easy, the transition was hard on the kids, but they found their footing with help from their new Army family.
When I think about the people that I’m closest to, many of them are my mom’s coworkers. I’m the godmother to one of my mom’s friends. In a lot of ways, I’m closer to my Army family than my real family, said Stephanie Parris.
For Parris, the friendships she made outside of uniform helping her family adjust were just as important as the relationships she made while in uniform.
Parris encourages everyone to find mentors, and she attributes a lot of her success to the leaders that invested in her. In every assignment, she found a network of mentors that played an active role in helping her with career advice.
For the next three years, Parris demonstrated the work ethic and aptitude to succeed, and was promoted to staff sergeant before moving to Fort Dix, New Jersey. Similar to her arrival at Fort Shafter, she sought mentorship upon arriving at her new unit at the Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and her inspiring story of perseverance made her an easy leader to want to support.
While her mentors helped her along the way, she continued to put in the work to succeed. She impressed in her new position and was promoted to the rank of sergeant 1st class, giving her the experience and confidence needed to pursue a career change.
Gaining steam
Despite Parris’s ascent through the enlisted ranks, she still harbored ambitions of becoming a warrant officer. However, she was at a loss on how to navigate the transition from the Army Guard Reserve to Active Duty.
While at Fort Dix, she had a friend serving in the Active Guard Reserve that posted on social media about being selected for Warrant Officer Candidate School, it was the blueprint she needed to carve her own path.
“Once I talked to my friend, I found out I had to request a conditional release from AGR,” said Parris. “There was a lot of paperwork involved and if I failed Warrant Officer Candidate School I was going to end up as needs of the Army. So, there was extra incentive for me to do well.”
Truth be told, Parris didn’t need the extra motivation. Her desire to excel in everything she tried has been ingrained in her since she became the example for her two children.
During Warrant Officer Candidate School, Parris volunteered as the class standardization officer. The position often led to long hours in the classroom ensuring processes were followed and conformity reigned. Her commitment didn’t go unnoticed by her peers.
Parris graduated as Chief Warrant Officer 4 William L. Ruf leadership award recipient, and her reputation followed her to her first assignment at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Upon arriving she was assigned as the property book officer of Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 1st Armored Division; a position typically held by a person of more senior rank, not a freshly minted warrant officer one.
As a new PBO, Parris was simultaneously learning the job while holding the position. The hours were long and job demanding, but she still found time to prioritize what’s most important to her.
“Even though my mom worked a ton, she always found time for me,” said Stephanie Parris. “She would take me to lunch or sit me down and have long conversations when I needed to talk. No matter how busy she was, I always felt loved and supported.”
At times when Parris was at her lowest and work consumed most of her waking hours, it was usually her son that kept her positive.
“My kids are so amazing. I remember there were times in El Paso when I would get stressed, my son would remind me that everything was ok and that he and my daughter appreciated everything I was doing,” said Parris.
Dereck was in high school when they lived in El Paso. But even as a teenager he could feel the weight his mom was carrying on her shoulders.
“My mom’s hard work ethic and thrive to want more is something that has truly changed the way I do things. I saw her turn nothing into something day and night for my sister and I; to the point where I want to keep building up from where she’s at right now,” said Dereck Parris. “Seeing her support us and still be there for us with full love and affection is something that I admire about her.”
Full circle
After years of being the mentee, Parris is turning the tables to be the mentor. Since becoming a warrant officer in 2017, she’s helped four different noncommissioned officers submit, and get accepted into Warrant Officer Candidate School.
For those keeping score, the surefire way to get accepted into Warrant Officer Candidate School is to work alongside Parris as her noncommissioned officer-in-charge. Staff Sgt. Mino Park, her former property book noncommissioned officer-in-charge at 8th Military Police Brigade on Schofield Barracks said Parris was instrumental in helping him in his Army career.
“If it wasn’t for Chief Parris, I never would’ve submitted a warrant officer packet,” said Park. “She has been the best leader I’ve had. She’s helped me with everything, and gave me the confidence I needed to submit my warrant officer packet.”
Parris changed his life trajectory, as he even considered leaving the Army before her intervention. Now he hopes to pass it forward when he becomes a warrant officer, and play the role of Parris for a different Soldier contemplating Army service.
When she talks about her kids, her words are reciprocated in kind. Dereck and Stephanie glow when they talk about their mom.
Both are in Texas going to college; a generational bound from a teenage mom living in foster care.
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“When I think about my mom, I just think about how she never gives up,” said Stephanie Parris. “She literally came from nothing, and she has worked so hard for everything she has in life. For many of my friends in life, I point to my mom as an example that your circumstances don’t have to define your future.”
Parris says fear is what drove her to succeed. She’s worked tirelessly to ensure her kids never have to experience what she felt growing up. While fear may have lit her fire, it wasn’t the fuel that kept her going.
Rather, that was the love she had for her children, and the love they show her in return.
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