Communities
Veterans Day 2018: 40 Years of Gratitude and Giving Back
11/7/2018
At Samsung, Veterans Day is an important time to reflect on the contributions made by American servicemen and women of the past and present toward advancing the cause of freedom. As a company with Korean heritage, Samsung is particularly grateful for the incredible sacrifices made by U.S. military members during the Korean War. To demonstrate that gratitude, we invest in resources and initiatives that benefit veterans and military families both within the Samsung family and beyond.
Throughout Samsung’s 40-year history in the U.S., we have dedicated more than $8 million in scholarships and donations toward initiatives and programs that support American veterans, including the American Legion, Fisher House, the Korean War Memorial Foundation and others.
Recognizing that many of the skills that veterans develop make them valuable, capable employees, Samsung turned the spotlight on three new interns this year: veterans Joe Drury (U.S. Air Force ’08-’16), Louie Terrazas (U.S. Navy ’12-’16) and James Thomas (U.S. Navy ’10-’17). While the responsibilities of America’s veterans can range from saving lives to managing operations worth hundreds of millions of dollars in fast-paced, high-pressure environments, all three new team members found that their experiences in uniform prepared them well for their roles at Samsung.
Thomas, who worked with our Consumer Insights team, found intersections with his military work as an Intelligence Officer. “We do research across all product lines, and the analytical skillset is really similar to what I did in the military, where I made recommendations for operational military commanders based on intelligence research I did.”
Terrazas found that his role in naval project management, for which he was tasked with doing maintenance on electrical equipment, helps him today at Samsung. “In the Navy they want you to be a self-starter and it’s perfect because in my role doing product marketing for audio at Samsung, I think it’s the same,” Terrazas said. “There’s a very similar work ethic in the military and at Samsung in terms of being motivated to do your job and to advance the organization.”
Drury was in Linguistic Intelligence Operations for the Special Forces and joined Samsung’s Product Management group for monitors. “Using quantitative and qualitative analytics to figure out what people are thinking is analogous to what I was doing in military intelligence,” he said.