Golden Gate University logo above the text “U.S. Military Spotlight,” the name “Yimmi Ridder,” and the subtitle “Service doesn’t end with the Air Force.” Circular photo of a smiling woman in Air Force camouflage uniform, making a V sign and standing in front of a white ambulance.

Yimmi’s service didn’t end with the Air Force

Published

November 9th, 2026

U.S. Air Force Aerospace Medical Technician and military spouse · MA in Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Yimmi served eight years in the U.S. Air Force as an Aerospace Medical Technician, working alongside people from every background and stage of life. Those connections are what she carries most.


“I still carry with me today the impact of connecting with people you would never have met in your hometown and forming lifelong friendships with them,” she says. “The military taught me how to find and make your own community.”


Leaving was never part of her plan. When her family’s needs changed at the end of 2022, she decided to separate so she could support them from home, and she wanted a plan that would make the transition smoother. That plan was school, and her priority was finding other veterans there. “I just knew that if I was going to school where I had other people who served and knew what it was like to get out, that I would feel more comfortable separating from the military,” she says. She applied to GGU about six months before she separated, and her first semester proved her right. Most of her classmates were veterans, and they reminded each other of deadlines until everyone found their rhythm. She went on to earn her master’s in industrial-organizational psychology and is now back for graduate studies in human resource management.

Today she is also an onboarding coach at the Diller Center, helping new military-connected students settle in. “I have also been able to work with other veteran students through the Diller Center, which has allowed me to give back to a community that I am proud to be part of,” she says.

Golden Gate University

Golden Gate University (GGU) is a private, nonprofit university anchored in San Francisco and serving more than 19,000 students worldwide. GGU is reimagining higher education for the future of work as the world’s first AI-focused, global, multilingual university.