When Emyrse Geye was a high school senior at the Tacoma School of the Arts she decided to devote her final project - which could be an internship, an exhibition, a research or community service project, or a production - on something with which she was all too familiar: surviving the repeated deployments of a parent in the military.

Emyrse, who is finishing up her freshman year at Tarleton State University in Texas, worked through the Steilacoom Historical School District and taught a poetry workshop titled "Poems from Across the Sea" to the 4th- and 5th-graders at Saltar's Point Elementary who were part of a Deployment Support Group. Her intent was to teach the students how to express what they felt about their missing parent. She then relayed her experience in a five-minute video that is brutally honest, gut-wrenching and poignant. It was this video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGkdZt_HMXo) that caught the attention of the National Military Family Association.

The 18-year-old will speak about her project at the 2010 NMFA conference held in Washington, D.C., May 11 and 12. A blue ribbon panel of representatives from the Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense and various organizations that support military families will be her audience.

While Emyrse will offer a kid's perspective on what it is like to have a constantly absent parent, her mother, Christian Geye, will address what it is like to raise a child independently even though you are married and detail her own experiences.

"I always say I am a happily married single parent," Geye said with a slight laugh.

"And I am definitely not the only one."

She recommends trying various ways to keep your family connected until you find what works. Her personal favorite involves a wall calendar on which she lists every appointment and date she and the kids have during a month. At the end of each month, she tears the sheet off and mails it to her husband so he is aware of everything.

The Geyes have been stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord since 1998, and in that time, Chief Warrant Officer 3 David Geye has been deployed more often than he's been home. Between 2002 and 2007 he was home for just six months, and he is currently serving with the 209th Military Intelligence Company, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. 

"Families need to come to terms with the deployments," Geye said. "This life is not for everybody ... but you need to make it work if it is yours."

"We felt both Emyrse and Christian were ideal speakers," said Michelle Joyner, NMFA communications director. "We need to remind everyone that research is research, but in the end, the work we do actually affects real families."

During the two-day conference, the NMFA will release their research findings on how military kids are faring multiple deployments.

"The goal is to start productive discussions and reach some solutions, which is the most important part of the process," Joyner added.

By late June, a report sharing all of the suggestions and recommendations made at the conference will be available on www.militaryfamily.org.