1
00:00:02,490 --> 00:00:18,020
I

2
00:00:18,020 --> 00:00:25,480
am the first African American woman to earn
the rank of Colonel, which is O-6, in the

3
00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,449
United States Air Force Judge Advocate General
Corps Reserve.\h

4
00:00:29,449 --> 00:00:35,680
I’ve always prepared myself to lead, I’ve
always prepared for the next step, I’ve

5
00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:36,890
always prepared.\h

6
00:00:36,890 --> 00:00:42,110
When I first arrived at Johnson in 2008 I
told one of my colleagues my goal was to be

7
00:00:42,110 --> 00:00:43,950
a chief counsel.\h

8
00:00:43,950 --> 00:00:46,890
And he said, “OK Monica, you can do it,”
and he kind of laughed.\h

9
00:00:46,890 --> 00:00:48,100
I said, “I really am.”

10
00:00:48,100 --> 00:00:52,960
So I have constantly prepared to lead, I have
constantly prepared for my position.

11
00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:54,940
So how has it impacted me?

12
00:00:54,940 --> 00:00:58,960
It really hasn’t because I have continued
to do what I needed to do to achieve in my

13
00:00:58,960 --> 00:00:59,960
career.\h

14
00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:05,470
I worked very, very hard and I studied hard,
I studied hard.

15
00:01:05,470 --> 00:01:08,990
If there was an educational opportunity available
I took it.

16
00:01:08,990 --> 00:01:09,990
\hI took it.\h

17
00:01:09,990 --> 00:01:13,020
And I did and I passed on what I learned to
others.

18
00:01:13,020 --> 00:01:14,619
So how did I get here?\h

19
00:01:16,619 --> 00:01:15,619
Hard.

20
00:01:16,619 --> 00:01:17,619
Hard work and preparation.\h

21
00:01:17,619 --> 00:01:22,079
And surrounding myself with very positive
people; people who believed in me and believed

22
00:01:22,079 --> 00:01:24,859
in my goals and a whole lot of praying.\h

23
00:01:24,859 --> 00:01:28,770
My faith plays a huge part in who I am.\h

24
00:01:28,770 --> 00:01:36,010
So my background, my military background,
helped me to succeed at NASA because I never

25
00:01:36,010 --> 00:01:40,641
allowed anyone to define me and to tell me
what my success was going to be.\h