Women’s Veteran Panel: Celebrating 75 years of Women Breaking Barriers 

As a part of this year’s Veteran’s Week, Pitt-Greensburg will celebrate female veterans and the signing of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 and Executive Order 9981 of 1948 on Monday, Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. with this year’s Reflections of Service Panel: She/They Served–Breaking Barriers for 75 years.

The panel will be moderated by U.S. Army Veteran Dorey Stabile and aims to shed light on the experiences of female veterans in an environment where women make up less than 10 percent of the population. 

Lisa Reffner, Pitt-Greensburg data & registrar specialist and a veteran herself, is co-manager of the Service, Initiative, Transition, Resource, Education, and Partnership Program (SITREP), a military and veterans success initiative at Pitt-Greensburg. SITREP aims not only to certify veterans’ benefits but also to create a supportive community on campus.

“We wanted to create more support for our students, besides just certifying their benefits, but we also wanted to create a community on campus to bring awareness to our non-veteran population. There’s a lot that our veterans bring to campus experience-wise, story-wise and it can apply to anyone whether you’ve served or not,” says Reffner.

Women and other marginalized groups have overcome significant hurdles in the military, and all together make up only a small portion of military personnel.  

“Women veterans have a very unique perspective of service because even though we still serve and we serve alongside our male counterparts, we still have had to jump over fences,” says Reffner. “When the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act was first signed in 1948 women could serve, but only 2% of the armed forces overall could be female. So there were limits.”

The panel discussion will highlight the struggles, triumphs, and unique perspectives of three female veterans. 

“It’s important to understand the strides that they’ve made. They have opened doors for others to do so and helped others to see that you’re not limited. You can do whatever you choose to do,” says Reffner.

The panel will feature a diverse selection of female veterans, all from Pennsylvania including: Julia Parsons, Toshua Jarett, and Jackie Bechdel. 

Parsons is a 102-year-old veteran who served as a cryptologist and a World War II Codebreaker. Jarrett, a combat medic from the historic 1st Infantry Division, will share her experiences as a U.S. Army veteran and chief development officer at the Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania. Bechdel served as a UH-60 Blackhawk pilot and community leader.

Reflections of Service Panel: She/They Served–Breaking Barriers for 75 years is open to the public, and is held at the Mary Lou Campana Chapel and Lecture Center.