The first female active-duty soldier has graduated from the The M1A2 Abrams Master Gunner Course at Ft. Benning, Ga.

Sgt. Cinthia Ramirez, assigned to Avenger Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, completed the roughly two-month course in December on her second try, according to a news release.

“Getting into Master Gunner school was so hard, but that just made me even more determined to get in,” Ramirez said in the release. “Everyone kept telling me how hard it was, and I wanted to see for myself just how hard it was — and they were not wrong. I just want people to realize that just because you were never the best soldier or you’ve been in trouble — you can change and turn things around. The mistakes I made as a private will not define who I am as an NCO and a leader.”

A native of Plainview, Texas, Ramirez, now 23, joined the Army at 18 and served as a driver, loader and gunner at Fort Hood. She also served in South Korea in 2019, according to Military Times.

The master gunner advises commanders and is a part of the planning, development, execution and evaluation of all combat and gunnery-related training, according to the release.

Ramirez is the latest soldier to achieve a first for women as the Army works toward gender integration in combat arms. Florida Guardsman Staff Sgt. Jessica Ray became the first female Avenger master gunner in 2011, and in 2020 Staff Sgt. Tiana Trent became the first Black female in that role. Sgt. Shawna Tipton was the first female to graduate from Bradley Master Gunner School in 2020.