Born and raised in Puerto Rico, I enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve before joining the University of Puerto Rico’s ROTC program to become an officer. There, the cadre, staff, students and our families all played critical roles in my mentoring experience.
I graduated at the top of my class. I was selected to join the Regular Army in military intelligence, serving at home and around the world, including in Germany and Southwest Asia during the First Gulf War. Ultimately, I was the first Puerto Rican woman to attain the rank of general in the Army Reserve.
Reflecting on my ROTC years, my...