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Things to Do

Women's History Month: Nancy Mace, the first woman to graduate from The Citadel

Nancy Mace became the first female graduate of The Citadel on Saturday, May 8, 1999. AP Photo/Mic Smith

Credit: Jennifer Brett

Credit: Jennifer Brett

Nancy Mace became the first female graduate of The Citadel on Saturday, May 8, 1999. AP Photo/Mic Smith
By Jennifer Brett
March 28, 2016

Nancy Mace didn't set out to make history. She merely wanted to succeed.

"I was looking to go in quietly, do my thing," said Mace, a former Atlanta resident now living with her husband and two children in the Charleston, S.C. area, where she is from.

Nancy Mace became the first female graduate of The Citadel on Saturday, May 8, 1999. AP Photo/Mic Smith

Credit: Jennifer Brett

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Credit: Jennifer Brett

She had worked in real estate and as a crisis communications consultant before pivoting into politics to run against U.S. Sen. Lindsay Graham. He was re-elected in 2014. A year later, the former Citadel knob announced she was plunging into campaign life once again.

Today her experience is a part of Citadel history, and the institution features this quote from her on its web site: "My time spent at The Citadel was the most valuable preparation for the real world I could have ever received. As with anything worth having, the hard work, dedication, drive, tears and perseverance have to come before you are able to reap the rewards."

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