Naomi Schware likes to tell stories. That's why she's a photographer. That's why she started a non-profit organization that encourages women to tell their stories of war and their hopes for future peace.
But Schware has a repository of her own stories as well. An American born and raised, she put her college education on hold to enlist in the Israeli Defense Forces as a sniper.
"I enlisted in the Israeli military for a couple of reasons," she said. "Chief among them was the US military at the point wasn't embracing the combat tract for female soldiers while Israel certainly was."
After serving, she found reemerging and adapting into civilian life difficult. So she drove around America, exploring, for 11,000 miles before heading back to college. And she climbed 38 of the 14,000-foot mountains in Colorado. And she was part of a duo that became the first all-women veterans team of climbers to summit Denali in Alaska.
At 30, she has a lifetime still ahead of her. By most accounts, she's already lived an extraordinary life. Interestingly, it was in that time after her service in the military that she clarified and defined a more altruistic path moving forward.
"I was in the military and when I got out, I had this immense lack of purpose in life," she said. "I really wanted to help people. I knew I'd never be wealthy enough to assist people in that way, but I knew if I could tell stories and convey the hurdles other people face through storytelling, I might be able to invoke some reaction, some action, some change."
She works with one non-profit (High Country Veterans Adventures) that connects military veterans with the outdoors and the backcountry. That's where Schware herself has reflected and found inspiration after dealing with conflict. She also started another non-profit – Women Undivided – that provides women the platforms needed to tell their stories of war and conflict and share their visions of peace and resolution.
"It seems when women are involved in peace talks, the peace lasts longer," Schware said. "We're providing an outlet, a way, for women who have been affected by war to share their ideas on how to calm that conflict. It's pretty powerful storytelling."
Her fulltime job is a photographer for a media and marketing group. Her job requires her to lug hundreds of pounds of gear to remote places for photo shoots held typically at dawn and dusk. It can be long, grueling work, but she's getting paid to tell stories for brands with her camera.
Unsurprisingly, Schware has stories about knives, too. Her first knife was gifted to her by her father, and she's had her grandfather's old camping knife for years. She carries a knife just about every day and will carry a multi-tool on those occasions when she might need a few small tools to tackle unexpected tasks that arise.
"On photo shoots, particularly in the backcountry, a multi-tool can be so helpful and handy," she said. "I'll carry a knife most days and add a multi-tool when I think I might need one."
For the holiday season last year, Schware peeled more than 200 lemons to make a homemade batch of Limoncello to send for people. While giving something homemade is still highly likely this year, the idea of an engraved knife for a few special people is still very much on the table.
"I'd rather give gifts that get them," she said, "and I like to give gifts that are unique and special."
