Smiles come easily from Jennifer Marzocca these days.

Among the many large things to celebrate in her life, on this day there is one staring right at her that she simply can’t ignore.

Her 6-year-old daughter Chloe is wiggling her front tooth. It’s loose.

“This will be the first time I’ll be present for one of my kids to lose their first tooth,” Marzocca said.

Life is good these days for Marzocca.

A single mother, she finds comfort living with her three children in Coupeville just down the road from her parents. It’s a good feeling to be in one place together like this, a departure from the unpredictable nature of her job in the U.S. Navy.

Yet, Marzocca doesn’t like to sit still, and she hasn’t.

Since retiring as a Chief Petty Officer after 20 years in the Navy, Marzocca has spent the past three years earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She’s antsy to start a doctorate’s program. That will take place beginning in the fall.

“I can’t rest,” she said. “That’s my problem.

“Once you get it going, it is exciting and I am now addicted to education.”

Marzocca, 45, caught the education bug late in life. As a teen, growing up in Southern California, she was more interested in the social scene than higher learning. Her parents relocated to Whidbey Island, and after high school, Marzocca followed only to find herself feeling stuck.

One day, she went to Oak Harbor and enlisted in the Navy.

Success in the Navy opened her eyes. As she rose through the ranks and gained confidence, she started seeing a lot of new avenues for her life.

“We have a path already created for us,” Marzocca said. “That might sound kind of kooky. I think I am where I am today because it’s where I’m supposed to be. It feels right. Being able to go to school after I retired and focus on my education, it was seamless and it was exciting. I have all this experience. I worked with the SEALS. I did intelligence. I was on a ship. I explored a lot of other countries. Going back to school enabled me to synthesize all of these experiences with a formal education. It helped me understand what all of that meant.”

Marzocca used her G.I. Bill to pay for her education.

She enrolled at Chapman University’s campus at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and earned a bachelor’s degree in social science. She said she wanted to go to a university where she could interact with instructors and classmates and wanted one that gave college credit for a good share of the courses she took in the military.

She found that at Chapman, which has since changed its name to Brandman University yet remains in the Chapman university system. Brandman offers a blend of traditional and online classes and is geared toward working adults, which was another plus for Marzocca, who works parttime.

Columbia College and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University are two other four-year colleges with campuses in Oak Harbor.

“Brandman offered me the most for my military service,” Marzocca said.

Marzocca completed her master’s degree in Organizational Leadership in one year. She graduated in May with a 3.55 grade-point average.

Marzocca’s accumulated time in military service made her eligible for full benefits under the G.I. Bill, however, she will have to use her own money to fund her doctorate’s degree.

“The G.I. Bill basically paid for my entire education,” Marzocca said.

“The whole transition was seamless. I’m one of those people, when I set a course, I go full speed. It was important for me to do this.”

Marzocca didn’t experience any of the concerns that some active duty military have dealt with regarding the impact of federal budget cuts on tuition assistance. Sequestration had a temporary impact on tuition assistance for some branches of the military but has not yet had an impact on the Navy, said Cheryl Pollock, director of the Navy College program at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.

“The way it is right now, sailors on active duty are eligible to use military active duty tuition benefits,” Pollock said.

Barbara Bockman, campus director at Brandman, spent time being Marzocca’s advisor and called her an excellent student, adding that “she’s truly a good example of what we do here.”

Marzocca’s inspiration rested in the three faces she sees on a daily basis. She is a role model for her sons Logan, 19, and Evan, 17, and her kindergartner, Chloe.

Marzocca aspires to launch a program that helps teenagers transition into adult life. She wants this program to educate parents more about adolescence and give teenagers tools to grow their confidence as they enter adulthood.

She also would like to teach.

“I want to make a difference,” Marzocca said. “I want to make a difference in the lives of others who need it, whether it’s youths or adults.”

She’s already made a difference at home. Evan and Chloe began modeling her study habits and their own academic performances improved.

Marzocca said that her studies were demanding, but she pressed on, opening some eyes at home in the process.

“I wouldn’t have thought of her going back to school after that (the Navy),” said Logan, who holds a job as a caregiver at a retirement community in Freeland and is planning to attend college. “It’s pretty cool that she did.”

Her kids agree that it’s pretty cool that she’s home.

Long gone are the days when Logan would spray his mother’s perfume on his pillow to keep her memory fresh while she was off on a deployment.

Evan no longer has to stay up late waiting for his mom to come home.

“When I was little and she was working with the military, I’d wait till 9 or 10 o’clock for her to get home,” Evan said. “I’d just make her dinner. It was weird not having her around.”

Now, she’s around to even see a tooth wiggling.