Jill Graves, born February 1, 1960, served in the U.S. Army from 1980-1994. Serving during the Gulf War era, her daily assignments included working in the government's Accounting department as well as being an inspector for government financial offices. On top of her duties, she had to stay up-to-date with weapon and gas chamber qualifications. Some of the positives of being in the army included opportunities to travel, partially pursuing education, and have all medical expenses paid for. Jill's number one positive outcome that she received was the honor of the Army instilling loyalty and discipline in her. Yet, while she experienced positives, she also faced hardships. It was not integrated until 1980, the same year that Jill joined the Army, that females were allowed to fight side-by-side with males. Jill felt that she had to go above and beyond in order to gain respect from her male comrades. Being a female during the times that she served was not impossible, but it proved to be difficult. She was denied promotions and was a victim of physical, mental, and sexual abuse. Going through military sexual trauma was not easy and till this day, Jill is living with PTSD. However, with all that experienced, good and bad, it wasn't enough to keep Jill from breaking barriers once she left the Army. After dedicating fourteen years to serving her country, she rejoined civilian life and the workplaces included. She worked various occupations until she received a disability diagnosis for her PTSD in 2014. From then on, she quit working to continue her studies as a full-time college student. Jill is currently a mother of three children as well as a grandmother to five grandchildren. She graduated with her Associate's degree in Paralegal Technology in January 2016. She will soon be graduating with her Bachelor's degree in Managerial Accounting in November 2021 (J. Graves, personal communication, March 4, 2021).