After losing three jobs because of her status as a transgender woman, Diane Schroer, a decorated Army veteran, was finally awarded $491,000 in damages by a federal court last year.

Schroer won the groundbreaking case under sexual discrimination laws, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union.

This week the LGBT advocate traveled to Northern Illinois University, her former school, to educate students about her struggles, and more importantly, why it’s necessary to fight:

After building an impressive resume as a highly decorated Airborne Ranger, and hand-picked to head up a classified national security operation, Schroer pursued a career within the Library of Congress. Upon informing her perspective boss of her transition from David to Diane, Schroer was denied the position.

“I did not feel that the woman who interviewed me had the authority to deny me the position based on the information I had given her, so I contacted the American Civil Liberties Union,” Schroer said. “After a four-and-a-half-year litigation against the federal government, the court ruled that I was in fact discriminated against on the basis of sex.”

Schroer lost three jobs through the course of her transition and is now the owner of her own company, which consults businesses on issues of homeland defense and counter terrorism.

On a related note, Campus Progress reports today that a hearing on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a piece of legislation baring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, has been postponed.