Resiliency in the Face of Life’s Battles Presented by Lt. Col. Wendy Buckingham Written by Laura MacAllister, Central Regional Director
Lt. Col. Buckingham Presenting at PWC's 2022 Training Conference
Wendy Buckingham is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserves and full-time defense attorney in Philadelphia. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctor Law Degree from Notre Dame, both with honors. When Wendy finished law school in 2008, she entered the Air Force on active duty, and eventually deployed to Iraq in June of 2009 as a commissioned officer. On August 21, 2009, Wendy sustained life-changing injuries from an Explosively Formed Projectile (EFP) attack on her convoy. These injuries resulted in five surgeries and eight months of rehabilitation before she was able to return to active duty. For her service in Iraq and these injuries, Wendy was awarded the Purple Heart, an Air Force Combat Action Medal, and a Joint Service Commendation Medal.
Everyone is faced with choices about how to react to life’s battles. Wendy Buckingham’s lifelong lesson in resilience began with the example of her parents. Wendy identified four major events that shaped her, in which the reactions and decisions of herself and her family had a profound impact on her story. Her early example of perseverance helped to carry her through some of the most unexpected and trying challenges in life. Slow versus Gifted: Wendy’s second grade teacher labeled her “slow.” Her parents did not share this perspective. Multiple evaluations by doctors and private teachers exposed a need for glasses and brought the knowledge that she was gifted, though learned differently.
The WATCH - Summer 2022 | 16
