When you first walk into the Tutoring Center at Solano Community College, you see tutors bent over tables, intent on downloading all their knowledge to the peers they're tutoring. Second, you might notice the big desk to the right of the brown room. Behind the desk is a brown head peeking above the tall counter. This head belongs to stylish Katie Caruso, the Tutoring Center specialist.
You are then greeted with a smile and a polite nod from Caruso, who's waiting to help you in any possible way. Delicate pale hands belong to a small figure. These hands are lightly placed on the desk ready to write or type, her wedding ring glistening in the dense light of the room. She is dressed well. With a light jean jacket, black slacks, and point-toe flats, she looks as though she stepped out of a Gap catalog.
Caruso, 25, once a native of Alabama, studied political science, socially, and education. Alabama is also where she met her husband, Joseph. He is a part of the United States Air Force. He is the reason she is now in California and at the Solano Tutoring Center.
"My husband is in the Air Force and he got orders to be stationed here at Travis Air Force Base, so we moved out here January 2008," said Caruso. "I have always worked in the field of education and thought it would be interesting and beneficial to expand my work experience to the community college level."
Her husband, once stationed at Travis, is now stationed near Afghanistan. He is gone for long periods of time, which takes a toll sometimes.
"I do worry about him while he is away, mostly for his safety and of those deployed with him," said Caruso. "I also know that when he is deployed, his schedule can be pretty demanding and I know it takes a toll on him personally. But he loves flying and what he does. He deploys for a little over two months at a time and averages two months home, and then repeats."
In the Tutoring Center, she faces uncertainty about her husband's safety and wellbeing with a smile to all who are around her. The Iraq war has taken its toll on the families of those deployed, but Katie, with her small figure and sweet smile, is braving this all for the sake of her county and for the love of her husband. Her sky-blue eyes show no worry, as her petite face smiles at all who walk up to the Tutoring Center desk. She's her husband's warrior, holding down the fort at home base with a smile.
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