Tess Coburn
(Editor’s note: During March, the Tinker Take Off will feature a few of Team Tinker’s smart, strong, amazing women who have overcome adversity to get to where they are now.)
As a young girl, Tess Coburn dreamed of coming to America.
Ms. Coburn was born and raised in the Philippines, not far from former Clark Air Force Base.
“We lived in the boonies and didn’t have electricity,” said Ms. Coburn, lead logistics management specialist with the 72nd Air Base Wing Communications Directorate. “At night I could see the lights from the base and I would think to myself, someday I’m going to live in America where the lights are.”
When she was in the sixth grade, Ms. Coburn lived with her cousin and her American husband. She needed to learn English, so she watched Sesame Street and taught herself to speak the language.
“It was fascinating,” said Ms. Coburn. “I believe English is the hardest language to learn because of all the variations, but it is easier to learn when you’re young.”
When she was growing up, Ms. Coburn’s mother always instilled that a good education would raise her up from poverty and she would be better off. With a goal, the will and the sacrifice to get good grades, education would be her ticket.
Ms. Coburn attended college in the Philippines, and that was where she met her husband of 39 years, Harold, who was in the Air Force at the time.
“Moving to the states, I found that my college from the Philippines would not transfer to the states, so I had to start over,” said Ms. Coburn. “It took me 21 years to get my degree!”
Although hesitant to begin school in the U.S., Ms. Coburn said it turned out to be more flexible than college in the Philippines. “They didn’t want to see anyone fail,” she said.
Ms. Coburn began her federal career in Germany as a GS-2 telephone operator. She and her husband moved to Oklahoma in 1992, but she didn’t find a job right away. She kept going to school and earned her bachelor’s degree in 1995 from the University of Central Oklahoma.
In 1997, she was picked up through the Palace Acquire Program at Tinker, while working toward her master’s degree, which she earned in 1999 from the University of Oklahoma.
Ms. Coburn said she wants to be a role model for her two sons and five grandchildren.
“I want to be their role model and a positive influence,” she said. “I want them to make their own decisions and have self-confidence.”
Her husband and one of her sons both work at Tinker.
In addition to working and looking after her grandkids, Ms. Coburn is also a marathon runner. “I don’t sit still — I move a lot,” she said.
After 29 years in civil service, Ms. Coburn said she isn’t ready to retire, though.
“As long as I’m enjoying my job, making a contribution and I’m seeing my organization reaching its goal, I want to be there to see it,” she said. “I’ve never had a job I didn’t like — it’s what you make of it.”
Women’s History Month Feature: Coburn punches education ticket en route to new life in the U.S.