A former U.S. Navy hospital corpsman, DuPage County resident Marylee Leu now is devoting herself to other areas of public service.

Growing up in a small town in Iowa, Leu initially decided to join the service straight out of high school.

“One of the reasons why I joined the military was to be involved in community and service,” Leu said.

When life took a few unexpected turns, Leu decided to delay entry into the military under the Military Delayed Entry Program.

Once she did join, Leu’s experience in the military was similar to the experience “most 18 year olds get in college.”

“I am really connected to those people that I went through boot camp and corps school with,” she said.

After training at Naval Station Great Lakes, Leu was assigned to serve in Naples, Italy, as a hospital corpsman.

Hospital corpsmen assist in providing medical care to Navy personnel and their families.

Duties typically include serving as clinical technicians, medical administrative personnel or health care providers.

In Naples, Leu was assigned to work as a paramedic in the emergency room.

While there, Leu said, injured sailors from the October 2000 attack of the USS Cole in Yemen were flown to the Navy hospital.

In that critical scenario, Leu clearly understood what all her training was for and knew she was prepared.

Once her time in Italy was completed, Leu initially considered a transfer to Iceland.

However, the U.S. and its familiarity were calling her home.

She transferred to Portsmouth, Virginia, where she worked in the intensive care unit at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth.

Leu recalls lining the banks of the Elizabeth River with her fellow soldiers to celebrate the hospital’s opening.

During her time serving in the Navy, Leu also obtained her bachelor’s degree from Excelsior College in New York.

Leu served in the Navy from 1996 to 2001.

Upon leaving the military, Leu moved to Texas and then Kansas before relocating to Aurora in 2010.

For eight years, Leu became a stay-at-home parent and immersed herself in volunteering, especially at her children’s school.

A change in high school boundaries led Leu to become further involved in her community.

Leu has a daughter who graduated from Indian Prairie School District 204’s Metea Valley High School and a son who will graduate from District 204’s Waubonsie Valley High School in the spring.

The boundary change that led to her children attending different high schools caused Leu to run for a seat on the DuPage County Regional Office of Education Board of School Trustees in 2022. She now serves as president.

“They oversee the boundary lines,” Leu said, adding she ran for the board because “I have been a parent who has been affected by it.”

Leu is running for a seat on the DuPage County Board in the March 2026 primary.

Leu’s daughter is studying mechanical engineering in college and her son is contemplating joining the military after graduation.

“I have served my country, I served my family, and my nest won’t be empty because now I am going to serve my community,” Leu said.