Hi, I’m Lydia Pert — HR pro, doctoral candidate, researcher, author, and perpetual mover thanks to my husband Dave’s military career. Over the past decade+ we’ve called Florida, Colorado, Virginia, Louisiana, New Mexico, Ohio, and New York home, and with each move I’ve collected new stories and lessons that shape who I am. These days, we’re settled on campus at West Point (USMA) in the Hudson Valley, just a short train ride from New York City.
Professionally, I work in human resource management for a cybersecurity firm. Academically, I’m in the second year of my doctorate, researching toxic leadership and the normalization of harmful workplace behaviors. Outside of work and school, Dave and I share a love of adventure. We skydive together and are working toward a bucket-list goal of setting foot on all seven continents. We spend a lot of time at Disney (we’re DVC members), snuggling with our rescue cats, and re-watching The Office and re-reading Harry Potter. At the center of everything we do is our Christian faith, rooted in the Reformed tradition. It shapes our daily lives and sharpens our marriage as we navigate change together.
This site pulls all of that together. It’s where I share what life really looks like when you’re packing up every couple of years with the Army — from the amazing places we get to explore just because we happen to live nearby, to the little routines that make each new stop feel like home, and yes, to the constant goodbyes that never get any easier. I also bring in the other pieces of my world: my work in HR, my doctoral research, our faith, our adventures, and the everyday lessons tucked into both quiet moments and big changes.
“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
Lydia Pert 