Citrus’ Veterans Success Center Director Maria Buffo knew from a young age she wanted to join the U.S. Navy.
Having fallen in love with the Navy after a fourth-grade career fair, which she still has the stickers and pamphlets from, it seemed as though Buffo knew how her life would turn out.
“I wanted something different in life, to see the world and be the first in my family to join,” Buffo said.
Buffo was a part of the U.S. Navy Seabees for five years before she left the Navy.
“I was a carpenter and one of the only females in my battalion,” Buffo said.
The Seabees are an elite group in the Navy consisting of construction professionals. These Navy officers are taught to fight, to bare arms and to do their respective trade in construction.
Buffo said in World War II, the government realized they needed construction men to build roads and bridges, but they couldn’t just hire contractors for fear of an attack.
“So this unit was built,” Buffo said.
During her time in the Navy, Buffo spent half of it in peace and the other half at war.
“I got out (of the Navy) during the first year of the Iraq war,” Buffo said. “It was jolting coming back to civilian life.”
Buffo said she was a planner and knew she was going to go to college after she got out of the Navy, but the abrupt way she left rattled her.
“I didn’t have time for a transition,” Buffo said. “One day my chief came over and said ‘Hey, you’re leaving, pack your bags, you have 20 minutes.’”
The sudden announcement of her departure left her no time to say goodbye to her friends or colleagues.
“Within three hours I was on a flight back to civility,” Buffo said. “Within a week, I was landing at LAX.”
What normally takes three months to process out of the military, she said she had everything done in about a week.
Still, life propelled her forward.
After moving in with her parents, Buffo went to Moorpark College and later transferred to California State University, Northridge with a major in health science.
Buffo said at first she wanted to be a kindergarten teacher but later changed her major to health science with a focus on education.
Once she graduated, Buffo decided to take a substance abuse counselor job and got certified.
She then decided to become a therapist and went to grad school at Phillips Graduate University.
Buffo worked as a licensed marriage and family therapist for years, both in the public and private sector.
Buffo said she stumbled upon the Citrus position at a time when she wasn’t looking for a job.
“Still, I thought ‘Sure, why not,’” Buffo said.
Buffo was hired at Citrus in 2018.
“The first year was tough,” Buffo said. “I didn’t know the students and I was new to this entire academic institution I’d never worked in before.”
Buffo has been with Citrus for seven years now.
“I hadn’t worked with veterans until I got to Citrus and became a part of the veteran community,” Buffo said.
Buffo has a tight community with her students that come and go through the doors of the Veterans Success Center.
Citrus’ Veteran Services Technician Rita Barber said Buffo bridges the relatability gap between faculty and students.
“Maria understands better than most the challenges that come from separating the military and the importance of support during this transitional period in our students’ lives,” Barber said. “She is always willing to take time out of her day to talk one-on-one with our students and we are blessed to have her as our director.”
Buffo said she still keeps in contact with graduated students and has seen some of them get married and even earn their masters degree.
“I love working here, my colleagues and students are the best part,” Buffo said.
