When she was asked what she wanted to be as she progressed in the Texas Department of Public Safety, rookie trooper Cheryl Steadman said matter-of-factly: "the first woman Texas Ranger."
Nine years later, the Houstonian, now 32, has her wish. While the first "official" woman Ranger, Marrie Reynolds Garcia, 39, scored a little higher on tests - both will be making history when they pin on the legendary five-point, silver star this September.Steadman, a DPS trooper working in the Houston warrants division, said, "I just can't believe it. Now people are wanting to know who I am. I have never had the limelight on me before."
Seven men, including the agency's first Asian-American, will join the elite investigative force with Steadman and Garcia. They were chosen from 208 candidates.
Growing up in Austin, Marrie Garcia said she didn't entertain dreams of strapping on a gun, donning a Stetson and joining the legendary Texas Rangers, the top-of-the-line criminal investigation force within DPS.
"I don't think it's sunk in yet," said Garcia, a sergeant with the DPS driver's license bureau in San Antonio.
Garcia said she grew up admiring police officers and the work they did, but didn't think seriously about a law enforcement career during high school.
The desire hit while she was studying physical education at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi. "I just got the bug to be a police officer."
Garcia was commissioned in 1977 and was assigned to the driver's license bureau. Three years later, she moved to the patrol division, where she spent 10 years. In 1990, she became a sergeant.
She acknowledged being involved in a few "wild chases" during her highway patrol years but said the most satisfying part of her job comes from calmer encounters. "I enjoy being able to help people and being there when they need you."
A few years ago, Garcia said, she set her sights on the Rangers. She spent a year hitting the books, preparing for the competitive exam.
Rangers Capt. Jack Dean of San Antonio said the top 40 finishers in the test advanced to final interviews and screening. He recommended Garcia for the promotion.
Steadman said besides her father, Billy Campbell, her biggest supporter was Trooper Boyd Preck-winkle, 54, who will retire soon. Preckwinkle was her study partner.
"She put a lot of long hours into it," Preckwinkle said. "I'll tell my grandkids I helped make history by helping her study."
Steadman was born in Houston but grew up in the South Texas town of George West, where the only law enforcement monitoring both town stoplights was the DPS.
In high school, Steadman demonstrated her skills in anything competitive, excelling in basketball and cheerleading. "She has always been a gem," said her mother, Donna Campbell.
Steadman was just shy of graduating from the University of Houston when she started study at the law enforcement academy in Austin in 1984. It is there she met her husband, Steve Steadman, now a DPS patrolman. The two have sons, 5 and 2.
Two years with the driver's license office led her to the warrants division where she has spent the last seven years.
Steadman says she is a little nervous about how women will be received in the Rangers and is grateful that she is not the only one.
The current concern is on-the-job fashion. The non-uniform uniform of the Rangers always has been a Western-style suit, a badge on the shirt pocket, a cowboy hat and boots.
Steadman says she could dress that way, "but cowboy boots don't look great with a business suit skirt, and I don't know how well dressing like the men would be received."