{"id":457733,"date":"2026-10-06T06:45:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T06:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/457733\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T06:45:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T06:45:01","slug":"how-danny-rojas-rewrote-the-transition-to-civilian-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/457733\/","title":{"rendered":"How Danny Rojas rewrote the transition to civilian life"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"&quot;byline&quot;\">by Bob Francis, Fort Worth Report <br \/>October 5, 2026<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Stories of Honor: Danny Rojas\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4L2VNBnHPsQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>Danny Rojas can point easily to the moment he knew he was going to be in the military.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He was in the third grade on Sept. 11, 2001, and he recalls seeing the chaos of that day and watching the towers fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI decided then I was going to join the military,\u201d he said. \u201cSounds kind of crazy, but I kind of fell in love with it after that. I followed along as we deployed and went to war.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That was, for 8-year-old Rojas, a stabilizing moment in his life at the time. A chaotic family environment saw Rojas change schools 11 times before reaching third grade.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As he continued his education, Rojas held fast to that ambition. Though he excelled academically and earned a scholarship to attend a state school, Rojas\u2019 dream would not be deferred. He had already enlisted through the Army\u2019s Delayed Entry Program during his junior year of high school, dropping varsity baseball his senior year to focus entirely on preparing for the infantry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt helped me find value and purpose,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0729-DannyRojas-17-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-708898\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.4993058769088385\"\/>Danny Rojas\u2019 Army Achievement Medal awarded for his time as an Army recruiter in Fort Worth under the Dallas Recruiting Battalion is on display surrounded by other commendations. These medals are given to soldiers who display an exceptionally meritorious performance within their duties. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0729-DannyRojas-14-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-708895\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.4993058769088385\"\/>A wooden plaque given at separation is inscribed with the dates Danny Rojas served. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-light-gray-background-color has-background\">Branch: United States Army<br \/>Rank: E-6 Staff Sergeant\u00a0<br \/>Years in service: 2011-21<br \/>Current title: Senior Principal of Product and Market Insights at iCIMS<br \/>Definition of service: Simply the act of putting others before yourself<\/p>\n<p>The spark<\/p>\n<p>Two weeks after graduating high school, Rojas stepped onto a commercial flight for the first time in his life, bound for basic infantry training at Fort Benning, Georgia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember hugging my mother right before I got on the bus,\u201d Rojas said. \u201cI grabbed her face, looked at her, and told her I had joined the infantry \u2014 after letting her believe for a year and a half that I was going into a safe supply job. Seeing her emotional response, I knew right then that no matter what came my way, I wasn\u2019t going to fail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rojas served in light and heavy infantry units at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Stewart, Georgia. Moving rapidly through the enlisted ranks to staff sergeant, he led weapon squads through intensive live-fire exercises, field operations and high-stakes tactical evaluations.<\/p>\n<p>His approach to command quickly diverged from the traditional military hierarchy. Rather than focusing on rank or posturing, Rojas built a top-performing weapon squad by investing heavily in the well-being of his individual soldiers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was never the \u2018figure your stuff out\u2019 type of leader,\u201d Rojas said. \u201cI believed in investing in the whole soldier \u2014 professionally, socially, emotionally, financially. I\u2019ve done marriage counseling with soldiers in my living room, answered 2 a.m. phone calls before they made a bad decision, and kept my guys training on the fundamentals when everyone else was sitting around. When you take care of your people, the performance takes care of itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Throughout his six years in the line infantry, Rojas constantly volunteered in opportunities like hurricane relief in Georgia and Houston, participating in reading programs at local elementary schools and managing a 35-person team at the Department of Defense Wounded Warrior Games at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York.<\/p>\n<p>In the final chapter of his military career, Rojas volunteered for recruiting duty, returning to Fort Worth to manage operations out of the exact Ridgmar-area recruiting station he had enlisted at years earlier. Rebuilding relationships with local school districts and colleges, he focused on student mentorship and transparent community engagement.<\/p>\n<p>Finding a career trajectory<\/p>\n<p>That approach would eventually point Rojas\u2019 trajectory toward his career as a civilian, working as a corporate recruiting executive.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Despite a decade of military accolades and executive-level recruiting success, Rojas was not prepared for the world he faced.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTransitioning out was one of the toughest things I\u2019ve ever done, harder than infantry training or special warfare courses,\u201d Rojas said. &#8220;Most of my buddies were lifers who stayed in, so when I got out, I was in uncharted territory alone. You step into corporate America and realize people are just clocking in and clocking out. You lose that deep sense of camaraderie overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After landing his first civilian role, Rojas resolved to eliminate that isolation for others. He stepped into corporate talent acquisition roles at JCPenney and The Container Store, rapidly rising into management while taking on leadership roles in corporate veteran employee resource groups. He spearheaded major philanthropic campaigns for Carry the Load and other veteran organizations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0729-DannyRojas-13-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-708894\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.4993058769088385\"\/>One of Danny Rojas\u2019 highest-ranking challenge coins was given to him by Lt. Gen. John F. Mulholland Jr., who at the time was the commanding general of the United States Army Special Operations Command. Challenge coins are a military tradition used to signify high-ranking officials, special duty assignments and specialized units within the military. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0729-DannyRojas-15-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-708896\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.4993058769088385\"\/>Danny Rojas holds both a certificate of honorable discharge and his oath of reenlistment. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n<p>Tailoring the Transition<\/p>\n<p>Recognizing a critical gap in traditional veteran transition programs \u2014 which often provide outdated advice disconnected from modern hiring practices \u2014 Rojas and his wife, Thania,\u00a0 launched their nonprofit, <a href=\"https:\/\/tailoredvets.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TailoredVets<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The nonprofit provides one-on-one career coaching and resume mentorship exclusively through corporate recruiters and hiring managers. The organization pairs service members moving into the civilian world with professionals who understand market dynamics. In its initial pilot phase, all 11 participating veterans secured jobs.<\/p>\n<p>Rojas\u2019 full-time work reflects his dedication to supporting others, as his job at software company ICIMS centers around mentoring displaced workers nationwide.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/RojasArchival-01-1024x614.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-727426\"\/>Danny Rojas and his infantry unit pose for a photo on top of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, during a training mission in 2012. (Courtesy | Danny Rojas)<\/p>\n<p>At home, he anchors his daily life in his family, balancing professional directives alongside his wife and six children. For Rojas, service is no longer defined by a squad live-fire exercise or an official commendation, but by the quiet, ripple effect of lifting up one person at a time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the military, you\u2019re around people where you know someone has your back when things get hard,\u201d Rojas said. \u201cOn the civilian side, people often feel completely alone. My mission now is to make sure our veterans and our community members know they aren\u2019t alone, that there\u2019s always someone standing beside them to help them find their path.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.<\/p>\n<p>At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/about\/fort-worth-report-editorial-independence-policy\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This &lt;a target=&#8221;_blank&#8221; href=&#8221;https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/10\/05\/how-danny-rojas-rewrote-the-transition-to-civilian-life\/&#8221;&gt;article&lt;\/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&#8221;_blank&#8221; href=&#8221;https:\/\/fortworthreport.org&#8221;&gt;Fort Worth Report&lt;\/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&#8221;_blank&#8221; href=&#8221;https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/&#8221;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;\/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&#8221;https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&#8243; style=&#8221;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&#8221;&gt;<\/p>\n<p>&lt;img id=&#8221;republication-tracker-tool-source&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=727876&amp;amp;ga4=2820184429&#8243; style=&#8221;width:1px;height:1px;&#8221;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &#8220;https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/10\/05\/how-danny-rojas-rewrote-the-transition-to-civilian-life\/&#8221;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;\/script&gt; &lt;script id=&#8221;parsely-cfg&#8221; src=&#8221;\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/fortworthreport.org\/p.js&#8221;&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Bob Francis, Fort Worth Report October 5, 2026 Danny Rojas can point easily to the moment he&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":457734,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-457733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/457734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}