Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Quezada.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I joined the Marine Corps after high school to become a combat correspondent, also known as a photojournalist. I always loved photography and wanted to capture the storytelling moments of Marines and our missions. I served at the Head Quarters for Marine Corps Recruiting Command in Quantico, VA for a year before transferring to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan for two years. I endured a lot of issues at my first duty station in regards to isolation, depression, and harassment. This had a pretty profound effect on my life, and I carried these issues with me to Japan. I fell in love with my job there but was in unhealthy relationships that caused even more scarring. One of the ways I learned how to grow and become more independent was through travel. I traveled alone often throughout Japan and many parts of Southeast Asia. When I finally transferred to my final duty station, I served a unique billet that focused on marketing, advertising, and local event coordination for the recruiting station in Orange County. Unfortunately, the long hours and recent family deaths impacted me heavily. I was already suffering from insomnia and used alcohol as a coping mechanism just so I could sleep. After a year, I became a full-blown functioning alcoholic and crashed my car into a tree one evening. This was essentially the beginning of the end of my career. I had a lot of healing to do and was able to turn my life completely around. I began traveling again and rediscovered how important it was to experience life beyond the military. I wanted to create an ecosystem where other service members and veterans could live life to the fullest, connect with others like them, find travel or outdoor resources, and discover places around the world. This was the genesis of LiboRisk, the first travel community for members of the U.S. Armed Forces – past and present. The creation of this community has been a beautiful one. LiboRisk went from being an online community to a military travel agency, military travel brand, and now a military tour operator where we host budget-friendly retreats. I could say so much more about my journey and process, but this encapsulates the bigger picture of things!
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not, but I am grateful for the turbulence. I grew up in a very dysfunctional household with a mother who abused drugs and alcohol. I am only now understanding the impact of her abuse and neglect as an adult and how it has trickled into my behavior and life. Having struggled with alcohol myself, I must live a life of caution when it comes to substances because of my addictive behavior. Additionally, I had a very difficult and strange transition out of the military. During my travels to Colombia, I brought back coca tea from a hike I did in the northern region. I wasn’t aware that this was the same coca tea used to make cocaine, and unfortunately got in trouble for having and consuming this illegal substance. I was administratively separated from the Marine Corps with a General Under Honorable. It was a difficult process, but I am grateful that things all turned out like this in the end.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about LiboRisk?
I started LiboRisk in 2019 as a simple online travel community. Using social media, I helped connect service members and veterans to travel resources and programs while sharing inspirational content of traveling troops. In 2020, I hosted my first meetup, and it turned out wonderfully. Since then, I have hosted 17 events that vary from rock climbing and painting to surfing and camping. Because I coordinated events professionally in the Marine Corps, I was able to take away a lot of my skills and apply them into this business. I never knew what would become of LiboRisk, but after fleshing out different ideas, I have finally arrived to this point in the business. Which is, LiboRisk is a for-profit military travel company that sells merchandise, travel agency services, and low-cost retreats to service members and veterans of all branches, eras, and discharged. We act as an umbrella corporation to all the outdoor and recreational non-profits to help promote, collaborate, and bring awareness. Until LiboRisk, not a single military travel community existed. We are driven by three core ethos; be receptive, be respectful, and be risky. These are part of not only our company ethos but our community ethos and guide how we operate on a daily basis. We want to share the medicinal powers of travel and show that it is accessible to anyone, anywhere. Travel elevates our perspective of humanity, and we can help change the lives of our nation’s heroes by showing them there is a life to be lived beyond the military.
What are your plans for the future?
We are hosting our first out-of-state retreat to Alaska! For only $1,000 each, 10 service members and veterans will enjoy 6 days, 5 nights in Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. This retreat is all-inclusive and will set the stage for how we host experiences outside of California. My biggest goals are to expand retreat operations and launch the first military travel app!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://libo-risk.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/liborisk
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/liborisk
