Sgt. Ronnda Cooper joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1998 as the first woman in her family to enlist in the armed services. She did this with the discouragement of her grandmother: a college graduate and school teacher who wanted more for Ronnda than what she thought the military could offer.

As you can imagine, anyone who joined the Marine Corps in 1998 was likely still in the service following the attacks on September 11th. That’s exactly what happened. Ronnda ended up deploying and fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

After leaving the Marine Corps, she reenlisted in the Army in 2007

Since retiring from the Army, Ronnda has taken on the personal mission of attaining higher education and serving the black community in any way she can. An easy feat for a Master's Degree-holding member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated. Needless to say, her grandmother is very proud of her.

Ronnda’s story is one of courage and tenacity. The courage to step into the unknown with no one to guide you. And the tenacity to keep going even when failure seemed inevitable.