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DIY dynamo: How a deployment project helped a military spouse gain millions of followers on TikTok

There's no question, deployments are a taxing and frustrating part of military life. "Stay busy," friends and family urge. "Take on a project," they say.

A Florida DIY TikTok sensation took that advice to heart, using the year her Army Reserve husband was deployed to transform her house and her life as she gained more than 5 million followers along the way. 

When the Army Reserve activated Cori Bosco's husband, Vinny, for a year-long deployment to Washington, D.C., due to unrest at the Capitol, she was undoubtedly disappointed. After all, the couple was working on renovating a fixer-upper home they'd purchased. So she set out to surprise Vinny with a completely remodeled home when he returned. 

Her mission went viral on TikTok, even gaining the attention of celebrity talk show hosts Rachael Ray and Drew Barrymore.

While Cori first took on the DIY project to survive a deployment without her husband, the risk she took helped her achieve her dreams.  Now, the former teacher is a full-time content creator.

"I became a teacher to inspire kids and motivate kids, but to be able to have this like, channel and outlet and mode to millions of people is on a different level," she said. "I really enjoy doing it." 

>>How to follow along with Cori's DIY home projects.

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