Lisa Lockwood

Author/speaker | 38 | Bridgeport

Lisa Lockwood overcame an abusive, impoverished childhood to become a beauty queen, Gulf War veteran and elite SWAT team officer. During her time as an officer she went undercover as a crack addict, a Hooters waitress, a teen and a stripper. She even managed to leave an abusive marriage. She's recently authored a book, Undercover Angel, and tours the country speaking to women about how to empower themselves and live out their dreams.

I grew up in Bridgeport in a welfare family of nine -- seven brothers and sisters. We got weekly beatings on Saturdays. Five of my siblings dropped out of high school and three of my sisters went on to be welfare moms. I worked 24 to 32 hours as a senior at St. Barbara High School to help pay the bills.

When I was a kid I wanted to go to Hollywood to be an actor. I would break away from everyone else and just read about what was possible in other people's lives. It turns out I got to do a lot of acting in undercover roles.

In 1988 my mom filled out an application for the Illinois Miss USA and I got called. It was the most incredible experience of my life; however, when I got there I realized all I didn't know. I didn't have any experience walking the runway, putting on makeup, the hair, interviewing like a professional. So I acted like I already had those skills and I got 25th place out of 205.

I still had to pay for school so I enlisted in the Air Force in January 1989. Two years later I was in the Persian Gulf during Desert Storm. In 90 days I was a heavy equipment operator! There I was, the only woman in my squadron driving tow trucks, buses, tractor-trailers and forklifts.

After I left the Air Force in 1993 I moved back home along with my husband and became a 911 dispatcher while I went to school and waited for the next police exam. I had married an alcoholic and our relationship was based on fear. One night was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life: He came home drunk and wanted me to go to dinner but I was resting before my night shift. Next thing I knew he had stripped the covers off my back and poured an entire container of scalding hot Chinese food down my back. I ran into the bathroom, looked into the mirror and said, "This is it!" My job was to send help to women who were victims and here I was ...but that was the one pivotal moment.

After two years on the job as a police officer it's a rare thing to have a SWAT position open up, and I applied. People laughed. Some said if I got it, they were leaving or, "if she gets on they'll probably do it just so they don't get sued." I didn't care, my superiors supported me along the way. ... I was selected -- the only woman for five years.

I posed as arm candy, an exotic dancer, crack addict, coke whore, as a 14-year-old girl to put pedophiles away. I posed as a Hooters waitress 15 times! We had a great relationship as far as setting up drug busts.

When my NARC assignment was finished I wanted to travel the world to tell people that no matter what the circumstances, no matter what cards you're dealt, you can achieve anything.

Act "as if." Truly model the results you want. Persistence is key. I wasn't born with thick skin; the fact that we used food stamps at Aldi and everyone could see it -- the fear of being embarrassed was the worst. But then I said "nobody knows me so I'm going to act as if I already have what I want." That's the skill.