But what pushed the young woman even more was the self-confidence she had. There was also her burning desire to prove everyone wrong who had doubted her. This drive ultimately helped her to climb to the rank of sergeant. She did understand, though, why her fellow marines may not have expected her to get so far.
Ihrke explained, “It’s kind of natural to judge a book by its cover. But then it makes you want to be as good, if not better than those people to show that you can keep up and you are equal.” And that same philosophy has continued to fuel her – even though she was honorably discharged from the Marines in 2012.
So what were Ihrke’s key take-homes from her time in the Marines? Speaking to the Daily Star in 2019, the young woman revealed all, saying, “I pushed my body harder than I could have ever imagined, and I learned to remain calm and collected in the midst of chaos. I became part of something that was bigger than myself, and I loved it.”
Leaving the Marines would also give Ihrke the chance to pursue new avenues. One of these was a relatively traditional path: she eventually returned to school at Illinois’ Elmhurst College, where she studied for a degree in science. But the former servicewoman similarly had the chance to explore a more unexpected career – one that had fallen onto her lap near the end of her time in the military.
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