Balten '97 speaks at LEADS Monroe and Los Angeles High Schools

USACE LA District Commander COL Julie Balten '97 was the LEADS opening and closing speaker at Monroe and Los Angeles high schools, respectively. “I’ve been active duty for 27 years, but one day I was sitting in your shoes, and you all have a whole life ahead of you,” Balten said. “I’m excited for you, and, if I could, I’d go back and do it all over again.” Balten described her upbringing in a small Michigan farming town of 450 with one school for the entire county and 150 students of all grades. “I was lucky enough to dream big…our parents really expected us to go to college, but they said, ‘you’re going to have to pay for it.’ So that’s a heavy lift, but dream big,” she said. After attending prep school, Balten was accepted at West Point to become a civil engineer. “I’m so thankful I’m an engineer officer in the Army,” she said. “The Army gave me the opportunity to lead at every level. That’s one of the greatest things about the Army.” Read more.