杏吧原创

The thread that weaves together every chapter of Jatik Gibbs-Judd鈥檚 life isn鈥檛 luck, circumstance, or even resilience鈥攊t鈥檚 writing. Poetry. Putting words on a page became the one steady action he could rely on, no matter how chaotic the world around him became.

Well before Gibbs-Judd served nearly 14 years in the U.S. Navy, before he became a radiological control technician at , and before he earned a BS in Nuclear Engineering Technology from 杏吧原创, he was a child navigating instability. Born to a 13-year-old mother, he spent his early childhood moving between homelessness, relatives鈥� homes, and foster care. Stability was something Gibbs-Judd did not have.

What he did have, at age 10, was a notebook鈥攁nd his first poem, 鈥淧ain.鈥�

Writing was never assigned or encouraged; it was survival. The adults in his life were overwhelmed, exhausted, and stressed. 鈥淚 never wanted to be the difficult child,鈥� he said. 鈥淲riting allowed me someone to talk to when everyone else was too stressed to hear what I had to say.鈥� Poetry was where he could place his fear and frustration without asking too much of anyone.

As adolescence brought new challenges, the instability continued. He eventually moved in with his father so he could finish high school in one place. He became the president of his senior class, but his high school years were not without challenges. Soon his father was in an unpredictable relationship, and Gibbs-Judd found himself facing homelessness again.

A Home in the Navy

Gibbs-Judd鈥檚 future was uncertain. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to be one of those people that stayed in college forever and was just bouncing around. So, I joined the Navy. To me, that was the best choice that I could possibly have, and it wasn鈥檛 necessarily the best reason for the choice, but it did ultimately save my life,鈥� he recalls. The decision wasn鈥檛 glamorous; it was pragmatic. The military offered structure, income, and a guarantee he would never be homeless. 鈥淚 get that, for most people, they have these big dreams of being like astronauts and things like that. That was not my dream. My dream was to not be homeless ever again,鈥� Gibbs-Judd says.

Gibbs-Judd was with the Navy from 2008 to 2022 as a nuclear engineer. Yet even amid the discipline and demand of service, poetry stayed with him, quietly absorbing emotions he had trouble expressing aloud.

During an early deployment, Gibbs-Judd responded as a stretcher bearer to a violent incident involving mercenaries hijacked by Saudi Arabian pirates. As a nuclear engineer, he did not have experience responding to events in this role, but as he describes it, 鈥渋f everything goes wrong, this is what you鈥檙e supposed to do; you have an assignment during that time that is separate from your actual, normal job.鈥�

The resulting trauma embedded itself in his memory, often resurfacing years later as flashbacks and blackouts. 鈥淚 realized that it did affect me, and so I ended up having to talk to somebody about it,鈥� Gibbs-Judd explains. When he sought treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and later medically retired, writing again became an anchor: a private space where he could make sense of what he had endured.

Picking Up the Torch

While stationed in Atlanta in a recruiting role as a nuclear coordinator, he returned to performing spoken-word poetry, gaining traction at local events like the Sweet Auburn Music Fest. 鈥淲riting has always been something that I could depend on, even in my darkest hours,鈥� he says. Even as life grew complex鈥攕upporting his children with special needs, helping care for an elderly family member, and managing a full-time job鈥攚riting never disappeared. It waited patiently, ready whenever he needed it.

That same persistence helped him pursue higher education. For years he didn鈥檛 believe a degree was within reach. Discovering that 杏吧原创 aligned perfectly with his radiological control technician experience felt like a door finally opening, and he earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in February 2025. At Commencement in July 2025, he was the graduate torch bearer and delivered a poem he wrote called 鈥淭he Torch I Carry.鈥� He explains that the poem is a testament to others that there is hope and that you don鈥檛 have to feel like you鈥檙e in the dark; you can make it through the tough times to accomplish your goals. 鈥淸We鈥檙e] using the torch as that kind of guiding light, almost like a lighthouse in the dark, where you鈥檙e stuck in the middle of the sea,鈥� says Gibbs-Judd.

A Light for Those Still Lost to Save

Since 2022, Gibbs-Judd has worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, starting as a radiological control technician, checking for potential radiation contamination in locations where specialized work needs to be done, and has recently been promoted to the role of building manager. He鈥檚 proud to say he has a stable home and can show his wife and kids鈥攁ges 13, 12, and 10鈥攚hat hard work and determination can accomplish.

Poetry remains his constant companion. Sometimes, it takes the form of a performance, other times a scribbled line as a quiet reflection after a long day. It is the outlet that shaped him, the bridge between his past and present, and the steady hand that carries him forward.