Louisiana’s first female general of the National Guard and ULM alumna Gen. Joanne F. Sheridan honored university veterans Wednesday in Scott Plaza.

Sheridan pinned red, white and blue ribbons on each of the nearly 40 veterans in attendance. ULM veterans have served in all branches of the military.

Sheridan graduated from then-Northeast Louisiana University in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. She received her commission in the Army after completing ULM’s Reserve Officer Training Corps program.

“Much of my success throughout the years can be traced directly back to this institution,” Sheridan said.

Sheridan said her fondest memories from college are from her ROTC experience. At the time, she was the only woman in the program.

“It was a tough road for all cadets, but I felt like I had to do just a little bit more, work just a little bit harder than the boys so I could stand out,” Sheridan said.

Now, women are much more commonplace in the program, and Sheridan said she hoped to inspire other women to achieve great things and high ranks in the military.

Alexis Brass, a freshman ROTC cadet, said she will use Sheridan’s career as motivation in her own career. Her dream is to become a four-star general.

“I strive to be as good as her or better than her because we need more women in the Army to step up and take charge,” Brass said. “Women, we have a hard time trying to get respect and she is a perfect example to have made it that far.”

Brass said the ROTC provides money to pay for college. After graduation, she plans to attend medical school to become a neurologist.

Sheridan also touted the National Guard as a way for students to serve their country and state while pursuing an education. She said the Louisiana National Guard has been busy lately handling river floods, ice storms, the BP oil spill and most recently Hurricane Isaac.

Additionally, 256 people in the Louisiana National Guard are currently deployed overseas. Another 1,000 have been alerted to deployment within the next year.

“The number of deployments in the state is significant compared to other states,” Sheridan said.

Many of the veterans at the ceremony came from all walks of ULM life, including professors, students, police officers and maintenance workers.

“I was really pleased and pleasantly surprised to see how many of our faculty and staff were veterans,” said ULM President Nick Bruno. “This institution has a great record of service, and this exhibits that. They serve not only on our campus, but also the nation and around the world.”