MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE ALBANY -- Corporal Averi Lavoie is a Military Police K9 Handler at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany.
From Waxhaw, North Carolina, Lavoie graduated from Parkfield High School before joining the Marine Corps. Lavoie says that she joined the Corps because she felt like that’s where God was calling her to be and felt like He was pushing her to better herself and to challenge herself.
“I think the thing I enjoy the most about working with my dog is the fact that he is so attentive to my emotions and if I’m having a bad day, then he’s having a bad day, so it really puts my emotions in check on a daily basis,” says Lavoie. She adds that her team is not just her dog, but multiple dogs and handlers and she is lucky to see how the different teams communicate and work with one another, despite the many challenges that come up in their missions and everything else that must be done. At the end of the day, everything gets done and the dogs continue to work.
Lavoie says that it’s important to (pour) into yourself and the people around you. “I think it is extremely crucial to once you get out of the 9 to 5 job, you make sure that your 5 to 9 schedule is just as vital because taking care of yourself is extremely important,” says Lavoie. She insists that it is very important to go to school, to find your hobbies and to volunteer and adds that Albany is a great environment to be able to do that.
One of her proudest moments in her career so far is validating and certifying with her Marine Working Dog, Leny. Lavoie recalls that it was a cool moment after validating and certifying when Sgt. Major Frank Kammer, base sergeant major, MCLB Albany, told her that she was the first ever female Marine K9 handler at MCLB Albany to certify and validate a dog.
“I want to say thank you for the recognition of being Marine of the Quarter and then Marine of the Year. I think that it is a great honor and want to thank my mentors, Sgt. Austin Dawley, who had a huge impact on me and Sgt. Madison Giese, who had an even bigger impact on me as one of my female mentors that really taught me that just because you’re a female, doesn’t mean you can’t compete with men on a daily basis, that it doesn’t have to be a competition – you can just work side-by-side with them like they’re your brothers,” adds Lavoie.