Veteran Spotlight: Nicolette ‘Nikki’ Huber

Nicolette “Nikki” Huber comes from a family with a long history of military service. Her father and grandfather served in the Navy, and her brother also served in the military.

“One of my children almost served, but so far I’m the last to have served, and the first in my family to have served in the Air Force,” she said.

Military service can come with challenges, particularly in Huber’s field within the Air Force.

“You learn to be tough,” Huber said. “You have to keep up with the athleticism of the men, it’s not for the faint of heart.”

Huber began her Air Force career with eight weeks of basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. From there, she transferred to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, for technical training. She later was stationed in North Dakota, where she began pursuing a degree through the Community College of the Air Force. Throughout that time, her husband was there to accompany her as a dependent.

While balancing military service and her education, Huber became pregnant with the couple’s first son. She temporarily paused her educational pursuits but later returned to school. She eventually completed her education through Ivy Tech Community College and earned multiple credentials, including a bachelor’s degree in business administration, an associate degree in nursing, a practical nursing certificate and a master’s degree in nursing.

“I always wanted to serve as a nurse in the Air Force,” Huber said. “That was my dream.”

Although she never fulfilled that specific goal in the military, Huber ultimately built a nursing career and continues to use many of the skills she learned during her service. Today, she works as a nurse in an emergency room, where she frequently relies on lessons learned in the Air Force.

“As a nurse in the emergency room, you must be calm under pressure,” Huber said. “You can’t succumb to pressure, and you have to have a clear head under pressure. As we learned in the Air Force, you deal with the pressure when it’s over.”

Her time management and organizational skills have also carried over into her nursing career.

“In the Air Force, we learned how to get things done,” Huber said. “You had to get them done, and you had to figure it out. You had to follow the rules, which were meant to keep you organized and in line.”

She also learned about the value of leadership and how to be a leader, a skill that she still relies on today.

Huber and her husband have three grown children who live in Northwest Indiana. The family recently welcomed a daughter-in-law after their eldest son married his fiancée.

Huber also remains active in supporting fellow veterans, particularly those who served during the Vietnam War.

“I’m involved with a group in Chicago that supports veterans,” Huber said. “Sadly, we don’t have many World War II veterans left with us. I have a particular passion for helping Vietnam veterans, who are often looked over.”

Years after leaving the Air Force, Huber continues to draw upon the values and experiences she gained during her service while supporting veterans and serving others through her work in health care.