Face of Defense: From Art School to Engineering a Difference in the Pacific

View Online Face of Defense: From Art School to Engineering a Difference in the Pacific May 1, 2025 | By Army Staff Sgt. Tristan Moore For Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Holly Hughes, the path to a career in the military wasn't paved with the usual steppingstones. It began with clay.  Hughes, a construction engineering technician assigned to the 84th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, traded a career in ceramics for Army engineering, where her creative roots continue to shape how she solves complex problems.  Construction engineering technician Fort Magsaysay, Philippines 84th Engineer Battalion A Passion Forged From Clay  Graduating from Salt Lake City's Westminster College in 2013 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics, this soldier's journey was anything but conventional. Drawn to pottery for its connection to human history, Hughes found meaning in the way ancient ceramics tell the story of civilizations, what they valued, how they lived and what they stored and consumed.  "Ceramics let me be connected to human history," she said. "I liked going to museums and finding interesting vases or other works and replicating some aspect of the work with my own voice."  Art wasn't her only passion. The scientific aspects of pottery fascinated her as well, from the variability of glazes to the unpredictable nature of raku firing, which is when glazed ceramics are taken from the kiln while still glowing red hot and placed in a combustible material, such as sawdust or newspaper. She loves the challenge of manipulating elements to achieve a desired outcome.  "It's kind of the meeting of the elements: earth, wind, fire, water," said Hughes. "Plus, it's super fun to take red-hot pottery out of a kiln, put it in a barrel with flammable material for 15 minutes, and then douse it in water."  Taking the Army Plunge  Despite her passion, an art degree in 2013 wasn't exactly a golden ticket to stable employment. After juggling part-time jobs at restaurants and bars, doing photography at a ski resort and working with at-risk youth at the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, she realized she needed another path.  "Shockingly, an art degree was not very marketable in 2013," said Hughes with a smile. "My student loan payments were going to start, and despite applying to countless jobs and sending out my resume, I only had three phone interviews, and all three jobs went to a candidate with a graduate degree. A lot of people in my family have served, including my dad, three of my four grandparents during World War II, and at least two of my great-grandparents. I knew that, at the very least, I could get some experience and skills that would help me find a career."  In 2013, Hughes took the plunge and enlisted in the Army as a technical engineer. Her creative roots didn't take long to influence her military journey. As a technical engineer, her artistic background offered a unique perspective on solving complex problems.  "A good engineer soldier can face a complex or unique problem and find a way to get to the desired end state," Hughes said. "Engineering is by and large a creative venture because no two projects are exactly the same."  Creative Roots  Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Matt Lizotte, a facility manager assigned to the White House Military Office, recalls first meeting Hughes in 2014.  "Holly Hughes is a rare breed," said Lizotte. "As a young specialist, I continually challenged her with high-demand and complex objectives over her peers and many senior to her. She exceeded expectations every time."  Even though she had found a passion in engineering, she knew she wanted more from this career.  "I knew pretty early that if I stayed in the Army, I was going to submit a WO (warrant officer) packet," she said. "I respected what the cohort brings to the Army."  Lizotte saw the passion and drive in Hughes that would make for a great warrant officer.      "I pushed-motivated her to become a warrant officer because, in my view, the Army was drastically underutilizing her skills and capabilities," said Lizotte. "Writing her warrant officer letter of recommendation was the easiest letter of recommendation I've written. She is precisely what the engineer regiment requires of its warrant officers. I am confident in her unique ability to accept and excel at any challenge she will face as a warrant officer."  Now, working bilaterally with the Armed Forces of the Philippines at Fort Magsaysay, Hughes continues to draw on her creative background. From tracking construction progress to conducting quality assurance checks, her role relies on spatial understanding, materials knowledge, and problem-solving — all skills rooted in her artistic past.  "Art school gave me a framework for understanding the world around me, not just visually but also the relationships between location, materials and culture," she said. "All of those things impact how people create art and architecture. That background lets me think about projects and missions in a slightly different way."  Making a Pacific Difference Applying creative solutions in the Pacific is how engineers accomplish the mission.  "If you look at what we are required to do to complete missions across the Pacific, it cannot be overstated that creative solutions are what drives the Army's ability to deliver engineer effects," said Army Maj. Nick Yager, executive officer for the 84th Engineer Battalion.  Her time in the Philippines has been as memorable as well as rewarding. Working in Laur, she saw firsthand how the local community's warmth mirrored her early experiences at the Boys and Girls Club of America.  "The kids would come out to the site every day, sing and joke with us. It felt like being back at the Boys and Girls Club," she said. "The coffee from the corner store every morning, the ice cream scooter at 11 a.m., and getting lumpia and halo-halo down the street — that job site was just so much fun."  Her experience highlighted the importance of building relationships with partner nations.  "We are learning from the just as much if not more than they are learning from us," she said. "They're a smaller force, but they make it count. Their special forces school commandant says, 'maximize the minimum,' and we've adopted that as our slogan for Salaknib and Balikatan."  Service Nurtures Skill Sets Reflecting on her journey, she has advice for others with a creative background considering military service.  "The Army does a great job of capitalizing on talent. It can take a while sometimes, but if you're willing to work hard and seek opportunities, eventually someone will see that and put you in a position to excel," Hughes said. "I've heard how lucky I am to have had my career play out the way it has. I push back on that. Of course, there's some luck involved, but I worked hard to position myself for opportunities when they came."

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