Drea Gibson is a rich queen.
Rich is the word she chooses to describe her life. Queen is the word her college cross country teammates choose to describe her.
Gibson served 20 years in the Army, in five combat tours: twice in Iraq, twice in Afghanistan and in Ukraine. She is a mother of four children and has a loving husband. Currently, the 39-year old veteran is a freshman on the cross country team at Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Here is her story.
The Army
After the 9/11 terrorist attack, Gibson decided to join the Army once she graduated high school.
"Our country was in such a desperate state," she said. "I just wanted to do something. I felt like I had to do something. And that was the only thing I thought I could do. So I joined the Army."
She summarized her time in the Army as bittersweet.
"I traveled the world for free and jumped from perfectly good airplanes. I learned how to shoot some weapons, how to burn poop, save someone's life, speak Arabic, read Russian, call for artillery, the list goes on," she said in an on Mary Hardin-Baylor's athletics website.
"I met so many wonderful people, and I also lost so many wonderful people; it never seemed fair that I was able to walk away from it all while still being able to run. I learned hard lessons and how to suffer, but I also learned about forgiveness and grace. I am thankful for the hard times, the memories, the pain that made the joy sweeter and especially all my brothers and sisters with whom I served alongside all those years, leaders, peers and subordinates, each one special in their own way."
Gibson met her husband, Jeremiah, in the Army. They were platoon sergeants together.
"I guess it's almost cliche. He was my battle buddy, and he became my best friend," she said.
When she reflects on what kept her going throughout her 20 years in the Army, she laughed as she said she didn't know exactly, but she did know that God is her everything. She said God is the only reason she does anything, really. Yet her service in the Army also gave her a tangible purpose. She said she felt honor in fighting for the United States.
But after 20 years, she made the tough decision to retire. At the forefront, retiring meant the opportunity to become more present in her family's lives. She wanted to be at all the birthdays, all the anniversaries. She wanted to be there to braid her daughters' hair.
"It was time physically, and I think mentally, spiritually, everything was time for me to get back to my family," she said.
Why she runs
"During my first deployment, I was one of the only females. I didn't get treated very nicely," she said. "They didn't like women. They didn't know what to do with me, really."
One day in her first year of service, Gibson reached a breaking point. With no one to go to and a fear of someone seeing her cry, she ran. She ran and ran and ran. When she stopped, she could barely walk. After that day, running became Gibson's therapy.
"Running brought me closer to the Lord, and I feel like I developed this great relationship with Him. I talked to Him, and I could just put it all out there while I was running," she said.
So she kept running and running and running. Within a few years, she realized she was steadily passing all of the men.
"I was like 'Catch me if you can,'" she said, laughing.
Her face turned somber.
"It was my place."
Representation
By the end of her military career, Gibson had gone from one of the only women to first sergeant. She earned the Combat Action Badge for her service, along with numerous other awards and decorations. She led a company of soldiers.
In her company, she said she had a decent number of women, many of whom would approach Gibson, telling her how encouraging it was to see a strong female leader.
"There was this respect for younger females in the military that I didn't really have when I was younger," she said. "I didn't have female leaders to look up to in the military. They were all men. I didn't even think about it. It was just the normal thing."
This evolution, and the encouragement from the younger female soldiers, hit Gibson.
"It made me think, wow, everything happens for a reason. All the things I went through because there were so many times I wanted to quit, I guess the Lord just kept pushing me, and here I am," she said. "But if I would have quit, I wouldn't have been able to do that for them. I wouldn't have been able to offer advice."
Her vision
It was a cold, early morning in Texas, and Gibson was running. Suddenly, she was hit with a vision.
At this point, she had retired from the military. She was figuring out her next chapter in life. She knew she wanted to be a high school cross country coach, even though she had never actually run cross country before. She wanted to earn a bachelor's degree.
The vision played out in front of her, and it became clear. She would become a college cross country runner.
She ran home and consulted with her husband. They Googled the NCAA, and then she called the Eligibility Center. They confirmed that she would have four years of eligibility. She could run Division I, II or III. The choice was hers.
She talked to her children. They were over-the-moon excited for her.
Each step of the process, she kept receiving confirmation that this could be her next step, that her vision would come true.
Her thought process turned from "You could do this" to "You can do this."
With her family's support, she had made her final decision.
"This is it."
Retired life
If you talk to student-athletes, they may joke that their experience is similar to being in the military. Gibson has confirmed that these jokes are rooted in truth.
But there are a few differences, for sure. In the Army, she was one of few women. Now, she enjoys running in a pack of women.
"I'm surrounded by these wonderful girls. I love my entire team," she said, smiling from ear to ear. "They're so awesome."
Her new uniform is a tank top and spandex, where her previous uniform was boots and pants.
"I don't have to worry about all of the chafing," she joked. "The Army uniform is not that comfortable."
The biggest difference would be in the disposition of her teammates. In the Army, Gibson recalled that the soldiers were disgruntled and tired. Really great people, but disgruntled and tired. On Mary Hardin-Baylor's campus, Gibson notices the joy.
"All the students are just so happy," she said. "I love that I'm on a faith-based campus, too, because everyone loves the Lord, so I get to be surrounded by that awesomeness every day."
The similarities lie in the schedule. In both, she wakes up at 4 a.m. She quietly sneaks out of the house to avoid waking up her husband and children. She trains and does recovery after. The only exception is now she has homework and studying.
"It's alike in so many ways, because you're in it together," she said. "We're all doing this for one reason. People join the Army for different reasons, people join cross country for different reasons, but on the team, we're all in it to get better and to win."
"The Army is the same thing: We want to win. I mean, winning in the Army is more winning to save your life," she said. "But it's still the same in that sense."
She said the discipline crosses over in both experiences.
"The discipline you have to have as a soldier, I guess in all aspects of your life, feels kind of similar to the discipline that I have to have as a student-athlete," she said. "An athlete is similar to a soldier. You're willingly suffering in order to make it."
Earning her title
When Gibson joined Mary Hardin-Baylor's cross country team as a 39-year old freshman, she knew she did not want to be a leader. She was a leader in the military. She just wanted to just be a member of the team. Her head coach, Alex Aldaco, said it would be interesting to see how that played out.
"They turn to me, but I think that's just from years of experience, you know, paying bills and raising children," Gibson said.
"But I'm not leading them. I'm just friends with them, even though I'm quite literally 20 years older than them," she added. "They don't treat me differently. They don't treat me like a freshman, though. I did notice that."
Gibson has found so much joy in the daily interactions with her teammates, and although they are much younger, they have a deep bond.
"I find so much joy in talking to them, but they always ask questions that they say they can't ask their moms. They ask me. Maybe I feel like I've earned their trust."
This close relationship has led to Gibson being dubbed Queen, or sometimes Queenie.
When Gibson arrived on the first day of practice, she began talking to everybody, breaking the social norms in college, which she said she didn't realize were a thing. Later, one of her freshman teammates explained those unspoken rules to her, but by that point she had shattered all of the barriers.
"They just kept including me," she said. "(They would say,) 'What does Drea have to say? Queen, you go.'"
Her teammates have helped make the 4 a.m. starts easier.
"It's probably one of my favorite experiences," she said. "This group of girls, I just feel so deeply connected to them, and I love them so much."
Her riches
When Gibson retired and joined the cross country team, she dove into her faith.
"Going from an environment where the Lord is not the center of anything, it's actually the opposite, was something I struggled with in the military. Everyone's just trying to kill everybody. That's how you live. Twenty years being surrounded by that, despite the amazing people that you meet," she said.
"I found that when I transitioned into college, everyone was happy because they weren't all trying to kill each other," she added. "The environment itself, everyone has strong faith. So you see a change in the attitudes of people, their motivations, everything."
"(I've gone) from a spiritually almost desolate environment to a spiritually rich environment."
Her time at Mary Hardin-Baylor has brought her closer not only to her faith but to herself.
"I'm rich," she said. "I mean, I may not be physically, financially rich. But I am rich in spirit."
Veterans Day
At an intake appointment for the Veterans Association, Gibson said she was feeling sorry for herself. She had been in college for a while, she had a ton of injuries, she felt sore all over from being a student-athlete.
Then she walked into the veterans hospital.
"Then I remembered how blessed I am that I can still run," she said. "It hasn't escaped me that there are still people who can't run. There are people who aren't even here to kiss their children goodnight."
"I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge how blessed I am that I was able to walk away. I guess I would like to say that I'm running on behalf of all those who can't run, even if it's 20 years after the fact."
Newcomer of the Year
Although Gibson has struggled with injuries throughout the season, she competed in her conference tournament and came in as the team's No. 5 scorer. Her team won the American Southwest Conference championship. Gibson earned the award of Newcomer of the Year for the conference.
She has found success on her team, in her classes, in the beauty of her life. Most importantly, Gibson has met her ultimate goal: returning to her family. She picks the kids up at the bus stop, kisses them goodnight every night.
Her children — Andrew, Chase, Annabelle and Faith — are learning from her example, watching her work hard, balance her priorities in life and, ultimately, live out her vision of being a collegiate student-athlete.
"I hope my kids love the Lord, above all things. I hope they see that. I hope they see that my ultimate goal is to glorify the Lord in all my decisions," she said.
"But I also hope it inspires them to do what they want to do in life and that, whatever it is, they can do it if they apply themselves. That is my hope for them."
