Anna Lopiccolo, Navy Spouse

Flexibility is a key ingredient in Anna’s life, and not just because she is a long-time ballet dancer. As the spouse of an active-duty Naval submarine officer, she has had to learn to adapt to long periods of time with only sporadic contact with her husband, Joe. With underwater deployments lasting up to six months, Anna and Joe often are forced to go weeks with no communication. Those periods have made her much more adaptable than she thought and also taught her to cherish every moment she has with Joe.

Anna helps fill the long absences from her husband by working as a graduate assistant in the Veterans Student Life Office at Maryland, by volunteering as a tutor, delivering meals to the elderly and through organizing a National Coalition for the Homeless “Faces of Homelessness” panel with formerly homeless veterans.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and is pursuing her master’s at Maryland to refine her writing skills and gain multi-media experience as a freelance writer that enables her to adapt her career to Joe’s military assignments. As Joe continues to fulfill a 20-year Navy career, Anna has grown very close to the families of other Naval personnel deployed with her husband.

Anna’s career has enabled her to share stories of triumph and tragedy, in addition to shedding light on spouses and children of veterans and servicemembers. She looks forward to continuing to discover and share stories of military families, and in particular, veterans who will be returning to civilian life.