Alysia was born in Texas to a Navy Veteran and an immigrant mother from Vietnam. She grew up all over the United States because of the classic mobile military lifestyle. Alysia graduated high school in Texas and then went off to college, while there she married a Marine and moved all over the world returning to Texas once her life as a military wife and mom had concluded. While stationed in North Carolina, Alysia graduated from Campbell University with bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. She became a real estate broker, while also working on an MBA in Finance from Cameron University. Concurrently she served as the Volunteer Coordinator for Habitat Humanity, drove for Meals on Wheels, and volunteered in the Youth Ministry with her church. Unfortunately, she was unable to finish her degree at that time due to her then husband’s sniper platoon being hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Iraq. Everything came to an abrupt halt for Alysia. She stopped working on her graduate degree to care for the severely injured Marines that returned home. She would continue to intimately serve as a Marine Corps wife during war for the next 4 years. She was a key volunteer for the battalion leading the support for the sniper platoon families of Marines through a most grief-stricken time.