Telling Difficult Stories One Video at a Time
As a service member advocating for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) victims and military sexual trauma (MST) survivors, Tara Neitzel’s compassion for others shines through. For years, she has helped fellow service members express complex emotions and process sensitive experiences through creative multimedia. While initially focused on producing personal videos for service members, an unexpected diagnosis inspired her to embrace a new community of brave individuals.
Tara's very first video proved to be immensely rewarding.
"I created it for an MST survivor who contacted me through her Special Victims' Counsel," Tara explains. "Our goal was to raise awareness about MST, but we also needed to make the video engaging for viewers."
The video was not only therapeutic for Tara, but it also gave her the courage to start making oil paintings for service members. Artwork provides a visual outlet for emotions that are often difficult to verbalize.
Tara's video creation process is comprehensive. She uses photos, voice recordings, personal videos, and written accounts provided by the individual. "I weave all these elements into a story, creating a timeline of events," she says. Tara also enlists help from her network to record specific phrases for the videos, when needed.
A year after producing her first video, Tara's work took on a more personal dimension. Her friend, a young mother, received a cancer diagnosis while her husband was away on military deployment. At the time, the couple’s child was still a toddler. Tara created a video to help her friend share the news with family members.
Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. Her friend's cancer is now in remission, and she's the mother of three children under six. Inspired by her friend's experience, Tara began creating memory keepsake videos for other cancer patients, helping them share their diagnoses and personal messages with loved ones.
Tara never thought that she might one day become the subject of her own work.
In July 2021, Tara received devastating news. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Metastatic Breast Cancer. She later learned her condition was incurable, with a life expectancy of 5-10 years. This diagnosis led to her retirement from the military on February 28, 2023.
For 18 months, Tara kept her diagnosis private. When she finally decided to share the news, she chose to do so through a video she created herself. "I believe that doing it this way allowed my family and friends to process the news without feeling like they had to be strong for me when they found out," Tara explains.
While skilled at producing videos for others, Tara struggled with making her own. “It wasn't until I was diagnosed with cancer and faced with the task of making my own video that I truly understood what it was like to be in that position," Tara says. "It was so difficult. I didn't really know what to say or how to say it." This experience deepened Tara’s empathy and reinforced her commitment to her work.
Even as she fights her own cancer battle, Tara continues to gift trauma-healing content, therapeutic oil paintings, and diagnosis announcement videos to individuals worldwide. She connects with service members suffering from MST and PTSD as well as cancer patients receiving chemotherapy through various channels, including:
• Word of mouth
• Oncologists
• Patient advocates
• Victim advocates
• Social media closed groups
• Family & Friends
Tara's resilience is truly inspiring. It’s also an example of superhuman levels of goodwill, compassion, and generosity in the midst of unimaginable adversity.
About Tara Neitzel
Since June 2023, Tara has embraced a nomadic lifestyle, traveling across the country to spend precious time with family and friends. Despite undergoing chemotherapy treatments every four weeks, she remains committed to her goals. Tara is on track to complete her Master's in Engineering Management by October 2024, all while continuing her video projects and oil painting work. She also plans to publish a book that describes her journey and provides practical advice and emotional support for cancer patients and their families.
In recognition of her extraordinary kindness and selfless contributions, we are honored to present Tara with Logix's HumanKind Honor.
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Individuals featured in the HumanKind member stories receive a $500 cash award, a token of appreciation for their selfless contributions to society. To learn more or to nominate a Logix member for this honor, please visit https://info.logixbanking.com/humankind. Also, visit the following nonprofit that has helped Tara throughout her journey https://thebreasties.org/links. Logix Federal Credit Union is not affiliated with and is a separate entity from The Breasties.
